When Angels Cry
by KittySpazway
Summary: Nine is up. Come and see what happened at the Nationals. The story is now complete, and am working on a sequel.
1. Part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ducks just my story.  
  
This is going to be sad but it is also a romance. It's a Julie/Charlie fic. I have always thought those two belonged together and I have never seen any fics about them. So I am writing one. I hope you like it. Please read and review.  
  
Oh and I am Co-writing this with my friend Chelsea. Ya'll might know her as C-chan. Actually she is just helping me with this one, with ideas. We are writing one that will be the sequel to this one. It will be about the Ducks in college. Anyway, I will get one with the fic now.  
  
A Note From C-chan: Hey all! It's 12:00 midnight and my stomach is turning itself inside out so I figured you guys could live with any mistakes still in here! ^_^ Am I right? Of course I am! I always am...anyway, I'm basically Liz's beta reader in this; she came up with the plot. I just made sure errors were gone. In the sequel, we're both writing it. I added stuff and changed the formatting and stuff. ^_^ Okay, churning stomachs and late nights are bad for me...I'm going to sleep now...oh, and I came up with the title in all its retarded glory! *grins* Oh, it's beautiful...*sniff*...*wipes away a tear*...okay, sleep time now...  
  
Dana: EEEP! Sorry, my computer is doin' freaky things...SOOOO sorry! I'm working on it as I type this...it's goin' psycho on me...*cries* it's confusing my brain!  
  
---Introduction---  
  
The Ducks were now sophomores at Eden Hall. It is in the middle of the year just after Christmas. The Ducks have about eight more games in the regular season and they were defiantly going to the playoffs this year; they had won almost all the games but two. Connie and Guy got back together over the summer and are just as close as ever. You could even say they were closer if that was possible. Charlie and Linda had broken up because Linda had still not learned to like hockey. She had been trying to get Charlie to quit but he wouldn't so she broke up with him. Charlie wasn't that upset; he had been planning on breaking up with her for a while. He couldn't be with a girl who didn't like him playing hockey. Hockey was one of the most important things in his life. He and Julie started hanging out a lot. They were really good friends but then they started to hang out more and get closer. They weren't "official" yet but the Ducks knew that it was just a matter of time before they were. The team hadn't changed since freshman year. The Bash Brothers we're still at it and Charlie was still the Captain. Charlie had actually put the C down and asked if anyone else wanted it, but they all told him that it wouldn't be the same if he wasn't Captain. Unable to argue with them, he agreed to keep it.  
  
---Part 1---  
  
Julie Gaffney was absolutely freezing. It was January and naturally, it was freezing outside. She didn't have enough clothes on for the weather because that morning she had been late to class. In her frenzy, she hadn't thought to dress for the temperature. She was walking back to the dorms to drop her books off and get her equipment for practice. She couldn't run because it was icy and she didn't want to risk falling. She found herself wishing that she would run into one of the guys because she knew that they would warm her up buy putting an arm around her. But she didn't see any hope of that so she just walked by herself. However, Charlie saw her ahead of him looking like she was freezing and miserable so he quickened his pace and caught up to her. He took her backpack and put it on his shoulder and then put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.  
  
"Hey Jules. You okay?" he asked the short blonde.  
  
Julie looked at him and smiled. "Hey Charlie. Yeah, I'm fine.just cold. I was too late this morning to put much on and I couldn't find my jacket so all I have is this sweater and it isn't that heavy."  
  
Charlie nodded and rubbed her arm. "Well, when we get to the dorm you have a few minutes to look for your coat, and if you still can't find it come to my dorm. I have an extra jacket there that is actually to small for me. You can wear that if you want."  
  
Julie shivered and tried to get closer to Charlie. "Thanks Ch-Charlie."  
  
"No problem Jules." Charlie smiled sweetly at her and wrapped his arm around her tighter.  
  
They got to the dorms and Charlie gave Julie her books back and they split up in the direction of their dorms. Julie got to her room and opened it up. She put her books on her bed and went to look in her closet for her jacket. She looked for a few minutes and then looked on the floor and there it was. She bent down and picked it up and put it on. Then she got her equipment and left. She looked at her watch and saw that she was a little early so she decided to go to Charlie's room and walk with him. She got to his room and knocked softly on the door.  
  
Charlie opened the door. "Hey Julie, I see that you found your coat. What are you doing here?"  
  
"I left to early to go to practice so I thought I would come over here and we could walk to practice together." She replied.  
  
Charlie smiled. "Sounds good to me." He looked at his watch. "Let me get my equipment and we can go."  
  
Julie nodded and he went to get his stuff. Once he had gathered all he needed, he came back, shut his door, and smiled at her. "Ready?"  
  
Julie nodded again.  
  
Charlie noticed that she looked tired and pale. "Jules, you ok? You look pale." Julie sighed. "Yeah, I guess I'm just tired."  
  
Charlie nodded before replying, "Here, let me take you equipment."  
  
Julie handed Charlie her equipment and smiled.  
  
They walked to the rink and stepped in, happily exchanging conversation. Most of the team was already there and they weren't surprised to see Charlie and Julie walk in together. But they were surprised to see that he was carrying her equipment. Despite the fact that they WANTED to, nobody said anything about it. They all got ready and went out to the ice. Coach Orion told them to warm up by doing about twenty laps and sprints. Julie who usually keeps up with the group was lying back more than usual. She was extremely tired, but she didn't let that keep her from doing her duty as the goalie; she was just slower than the rest doing laps and sprints. The coach noticed how she wasn't with the rest of the group.  
  
Coach Orion called out for Julie. "Gaffney!!! Come here."  
  
Julie skated over to him. "Yes coach?"  
  
"Are you ok? You aren't with the rest of the team like you usually are." Coach Orion asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm ok. I'm just tired, but I am ok." Julie replied with a half- smile. Orion nodded. "Okay, just wanted to make sure..."  
  
Julie nodded and went back to the laps.  
  
They finished their warm-up and went on with the practice. At the net, Julie did as she always did, blocking almost all the shots. Everyone's fear suddenly disappeared as she blocked shot after shot with fluid perfection. The practice came to a close and they all went to the locker room. Julie sat down at her locker and just stared off into space. She really didn't want to change; she was just too tired. Soon enough, Charlie came over to her and bent in front of her.  
  
"Jules are you going to shower and change? Everyone else already has. In fact, most of the Ducks have already left." He asked her.  
  
Julie groaned and mutterd, "I guess."  
  
Charlie is concerned. "Okay, go on then. I'm going to wait for you."  
  
Julie shook her head. "Charlie, you don't have to do that. I will be fine, I promise."  
  
"Jules, I am not leaving you alone in her. I'm not blind, I can see you're exhausted and I'm worried about you. I'm going to stay and wait for you and walk you back. Now go and shower." Charlie said strongly, but gentle at the same time.  
  
Julie sighed and nodded and went off she showered and got into her regular clothes. Then she went back into the locker room and put her equipment back in her bag. She put her jacket on and zipped it up before she turned to Charlie and gave him a halfhearted smile.  
  
Charlie smiled. "You ready?" he asked.  
  
Julie nodded in reply.  
  
"Ok then, let's go." He then saw her struggling with her bag. "Here let me have that." He said, taking her bag from her.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Charlie smiled. "Anytime Jules."  
  
They started their walk towards their own respective dorms in silence. Most of the time Julie had her head down looking at the ground. But something caught her eye and she looked up, nearly coming face to face with Scooter, who was walking towards them. Julie groaned. "I really don't feel like dealing with him right now."  
  
"Why? Has he been bothering you?" Charlie asked, furrowing his eyebrows.  
  
Julie rolled her eyes and replied, "Yes for the past fricking month he has been trying to get me to go out with him again. I told him if he hadn't treated me like crap and had actually listened to me, I might consider it. But since he DIDN'T listen to me, I refuse give him the time of day. Here he comes..."  
  
Charlie nodded. "Ahh, okay."  
  
Just then Scooter walked up to them and smiled at Julie. "Hey sweetie how you doing? Want to go get something to eat?"  
  
Julie, as tired as she was, did not like being called "Sweetie" by Scooter, or anyone for that matter. Well, she did let the Ducks call her that sometimes. She then pounced on Scooter and knocked him on the ground before kicking him in the ribs. Having that done, she bent down into Scooters face with an angry glare emitting from her face.  
  
Julie was truly pissed. "Don't EVER call me that again, you hear me, jerk?" she shouted. Scooter nodded, frightened by the sudden violent outburst.  
  
"Good, and no I don't want to get something to eat with you now or ever. As a matter of fact, right now I am going to bed." Julie spat out.  
  
With that Julie walked off leaving Scooter on the ground. Charlie caught up with her and saw that she looked like she was crying.  
  
Charlie stopped and reached out, gently grabbing her arm. "Julie, what's wrong?!"  
  
Julie looked down. "Why can't he get the picture that I don't want to go out with him? Why won't he just leave me alone?"  
  
Charlie pulled her closer for a hug. "I don't know Julie, I don't know, come on lets get you to bed."  
  
Julie nodded. The two teenagers went inside the dorm that they were in front of and he walked her to her room. She opened it up and went inside He followed her in and put her equipment down.  
  
"Jules, you sure you don't want anything to eat?" Charlie asked.  
  
Julie nodded. "I just want to go to bed."  
  
Charlie nodded back. "Ok well I am going to go, alright? I am going to go get something to eat but then I will be in my dorm the rest of the night. So if you need anything, you can call me ok?"  
  
She nodded and pulled her bag off the bed to the floor. Charlie walked over to her and hugged her.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" he said.  
  
Julie nodded and he kissed her on the forehead and left the room. Julie changed and went to bed turning the light off. She got up the next day feeling a lot better. She made sure that she put on plenty of clothes and got her jacket. She had a feeling that this was going to be a good day, plus they had a game tonight.  
  
She got to her classes on time and had fun at lunch. She sat with Charlie and they talked about the game, her family, his family and then they just play fought. Which caused Julie to get teased the rest of the day by Connie but she didn't care...it was fun. The school day ended and it was time to get ready for the game. She went to the dorm and got her stuff. She sighed and walked out the door to go to the bus. She didn't want the Ducks to know it but she was seriously nervous about this game. She had heard that the players were about as big as the Iceland players were in the Goodwill games. She got to the bus put her back up and got a seat. When she set down, she took a deep breath and began trying to calm herself down.  
  
Julie then muttered something to herself. "I wish Charlie was here."  
  
Jus as she said that, Charlie poked his head in the bus and gave her a big grin. "Hey Julie, ready for the game?" he asked.  
  
Julie shook her head no. Charlie was the only person on the team that she trusted enough to admit her fear to. She refused to admit her weakness and anxiety to the other Ducks. She didn't want anyone to think she was a big baby. But Julie knew Charlie wouldn't condemn her for it; and she trusted him for that.  
  
"Ahh, Jules, you're not scared are you?" Charlie asked in a slightly teasing voice.  
  
Julie just nodded her head; Charlie frowned and walked over to her and hugged her, now completely serious.  
  
"It'll be ok Jules, you'll see." Charlie said.  
  
Julie sighed. "Its just that I heard that the guys are about as big as those Iceland players, and not only that, but my mom and dad are supposed to come and watch. With that combination I am scared to death."  
  
"You'll be ok Jules. Just don't think about how big the players are." Charlie said in a comforting tone.  
  
Julie was panicking. "My mom will freak if she sees them, so will my dad. But I can just tell them I will be ok and they will believe me. It's just...I have to wonder...do I believe myself?"  
  
Charlie turned in his seat and looks Julie in the eye. "Julie, you will be fine. Look around you. You have me and ten other guys around you to protect you from those guys. Don't worry about it you'll be fine. Plus you get to stay in the goal."  
  
Julie smiled; Charlie always made her feel better. "Thanks Charlie."  
  
He smiles. "No prob, Jules. No prob."  
  
She smiled and realized they were almost there. They soon arrived and unloaded. The team went into the locker room and started to change. They got on the ice and started to warm up. Julie looked into the stands and didn't see her parents. She sighed; it wasn't time for the game to start anyways. When the warm-ups were over and the game was about to start, she looked back up into the stands and sighed again. Charlie noticed that she looked upset and skated over to the goal.  
  
"Hey Jules, you ok sweetie?" Charlie asked.  
  
Julie shook her head. "Mama and daddy aren't here..."  
  
Charlie patted her on the back. "Well I'm sure they will be here...don't worry about it, okay?"  
  
Julie looked at him and gave him a small smile. "Okay."  
  
Charlie grinned. "All right, ready to play?"  
  
Julie grins hits both sides of the goal and says, "BRING IT ON!!!"  
  
Charlie grins and says, "That's my girl!"  
  
Charlie skates off and the game starts.  
  
The first period went great. The Ducks scored two points and the other team didn't score any. At the end of the first period, Julie was pumped! Her team was winning and she wasn't as scared as she was in the beginning. She was skating over to the rest of the team and was looking around in the crowd to see if her parents were there. They weren't. She was starting to get worried now; they should have been there by then. She skated over to Charlie and tugged on his jersey. He looked at her and smiled but his smile quickly faded when he say the look on her face.  
  
Charlie frowned. "What is it Sweetie?"  
  
Julie was trying not to panic. "They're still not here. What if something happened to them?"  
  
Charlie was trying to think of something to calm her down. "Julie, are you sure it was this game they were going to? Maybe they were going to go to a home game."  
  
Julie shook her head. "No Charlie, Daddy called me yesterday and told me they were coming to this one."  
  
Charlie replied, "Ok...well maybe something came up and they couldn't get a hold of you before the game. Come on we well ask coach, okay?"  
  
Julie nodded. Charlie took her hand and they went over to Coach Orion.  
  
"Coach, Julie's parents were supposed to be here and they haven't arrived yet. She's worried. Do you think maybe something came up and they couldn't come and they couldn't get a hold of her before we left?" Charlie said.  
  
Coach looked at Julie. She didn't have her usual touch girl act on. He could tell she was scared. He nodded. "Probably. I happen to know of a certain ex-coach of yours that is here to watch you guys. He has his cell phone. Julie, does your dad have a cell phone?" Julie nodded and said, "Yeah, Coach Bombay has the number."  
  
Coach Orion nodded. "Okay, well I will get him to call and find out what is going on. Would that be okay, Gaffney?"  
  
Julie nodded again.  
  
Coach gave her an encouraging smile. "Okay, now you two get back on the ice. The second period is about to start."  
  
They nodded and went back to the ice. Julie skated to the goal and got ready. Charlie just stood out in the middle of the ice looking at her with a worried look on his face. She looked at him and gave him a small smile. That made him feel a little better and he smiled back at her. She hit the legs of the goal and did her usual. "BRING IT ON!". Charlie laughed and turned around ready to start the period. They were still winning in the middle of the second period when Connie skated by, stealing the puck from the other team.  
  
Julie cheered for her fellow female Duck. "GO CONNIE!!! THAT-A-GIRL! SHOW THEM WHO'S BOSS."  
  
Guy laughed and so did Charlie. Connie passed the puck to Charlie who got to the goal and shot and scored. They celebrated a little but then got back into the game. Connie got the puck again and started skating towards the opposing goal. She didn't see the guy coming up behind her but Julie did.  
  
Julie screamed out to her. "CONNIE! LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU."  
  
Connie heard Julie's cry and passed the puck to Guy who shot and scored. Just as Guy scored, the guy that had been behind Connie body slammed her in to the wall hard. Julie saw this and started freaking out.  
  
"CONNIE!!!" Julie began skating over to her "Connie, are you ok?"  
  
Connie just lay there for a minute. Guy came over and bent down next to her.  
  
"Connie! Look at me sweetie." She slowly looked up at him. "That's a good girl. Are you hurt or just dazed?"  
  
Connie blinked. "I think I'm ok. Just dazed."  
  
"Ok...can you get up? Do you need help?" Guy asked Connie.  
  
Connie shook her head. "I'm ok, but I don't want to play right now. I just want to sit down."  
  
Guy nodded. "Okay, come on."  
  
Julie watched Guy take Connie off the ice and she went back to the goal. Charlie watched her and skated over to her.  
  
Charlie approached Julie. "She's ok Julie, you know that right? She is just a little shaken up."  
  
Julie nodded. "I know."  
  
Charlie started to skate off but saw something in Julie's face that worried him. Charlie frowned. "Julie you okay?"  
  
Julie was worried stiff. "What if something happened to them Charlie? Ugh, I hate not knowing! I'd rather know what happened then have to stand here worrying..."  
  
Charlie went over to her and hugged her. "I know Jules, I know. But Coach is finding out right now so we will know in the next break. And Jules, I want you to know what ever happens, I will be right here for you okay?"  
  
Julie pulled back and smiled. "Thanks Charlie."  
  
Charlie smiled, kissed her on the forehead, and gave Julie her helmet that was on the back of the goal. She puts it on and Charlie skates off to finish the period.  
  
She put it on and Charlie skated off to finish the period. The period ended and the team skated off the ice. Charlie went straight to the coach.  
  
Charlie took in a deep breath and mentally prepared himself. "Coach, have you heard anything?"  
  
Coach Orion answered him. "Yeah, and its not good. Do you want me to tell you and then you tell Julie or tell you and you be there when I tell Julie?"  
  
"Tell me then, I'll be there when you tell Julie." Charlie answered back.  
  
Coach sighed and proceeded to tell Charlie. "Okay. Well on their way here Julie's mom and dad were in a wreck. It was pretty bad, Charlie, and Julie's dad is in bad shape. They don't know if he is going to make it. Her mom is pretty bad to but they have her stable and they are pretty sure that she well be fine. Now the only question is how are we going to tell Jules."  
  
Charlie was in shock for a moment. "Coach I just changed my mind...let me tell Julie."  
  
Orion nodded. "Alright Charlie. I will go find her and send her in her; then I'll make sure the rest of the team doesn't bother you."  
  
Charlie nodded.  
  
Coach and Charlie talked a couple more minutes about some stuff before the Coach Orion left to find Julie.  
  
After Orion left, Charlie laid his head in his hands for a second. He then sat back up, telling himself that he can't let Julie see him like that. A few seconds later, Julie walked in thoroughly scared about what is going on with her parents.  
  
"Charlie?" Julie said in a soft voice.  
  
Charlie looked over at her, stood up, and went to her.  
  
Charlie approached Julie. "Hey Julie, why don't you sit down..."  
  
Julie was visibly worried. "Did find out about mama and daddy?"  
  
"Yea sweetie I did." Charlie answered truthfully.  
  
Julie sat down at her locker and Charlie kneeled down in front of her and took her hands. "Julie, you parents were on their way here. They got in a horrible accident." He takes a deep breath and lets it out. "They are both in the hospital right now. They have gotten your mom stable, and she will be ok. They are having trouble getting you dad stabilized, and they are having doubts about him." Charlie explained, trying to remain calm and collected for Julie.  
  
Charlie stopped there to let the news sink in. He looked at Julie and saw that she was struggling to not cry. He let go of one of her hands and reached up to her face. He then pulled her face up to look at him.  
  
"Julie, sweetie if you want to cry let it out, ok? It's not going to hurt you to cry, I promise." Charlie counseled.  
  
Julie looked at him, felt the gentle touch of his hand on her face, and started crying. Charlie stood up, picked her up, and sat down, pulling her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and started to rock her.  
  
"Julie, sweetie, Coach said that he would be okay if you wanted to come out of the game and go to the hospital. Bombay will take you; he already said that. But he said that you could continue playing if you want and then go afterwards. What do you want to do sweetie?" Charlie said with tenderness.  
  
Julie was trying to stop crying. "I don't want to leave the game. Mama and daddy wouldn't want me to leave the game, daddy told me that one time. I'll stay in the game and go after. Will you go with me Charlie?"  
  
Charlie nodded and said, "Yes sweetie, I will go with you."  
  
"Thanks." Julie said with a smile.  
  
"You're welcome. Now come on, lets get you washed up for the third period, ok?" Charlie said with a comforting smile.  
  
Julie nodded. Charlie helped her up and took her over to the sink. She washed her face with cold water and dried it off with Charlie's jersey. She looked at him and gave him a weak smile before turning to walk back to the ice. Charlie smiled and went after her. He told Coach Orion what she wanted to do and he nodded. The third period started and went without any scores. The Period was hard for Julie but she didn't let anyone know that something was wrong; she blocked every shot they sent her way. At the end of the game, Charlie and Julie celebrated a little while and then went and changed. Coach Bombay came in and told Charlie he needed to talk to him so Charlie went outside with him. A few minutes later, they both came back in. Charlie looked worried but Bombay didn't have any particular look on his face. Charlie went over to Julie and sat down next to her. Coach Bombay came and sat down in front of them. Julie looked at Bombay and knew something is wrong.  
  
Julie looked worried. In a voice softer than usual, she asked, "Coach, what is it?"  
  
Bombay frowned and replied, "Sweetie, I just got a phone call from the Hospital..."  
  
OHHH cliffhanger! What's going to happen? Well you well just have to wait and see, now won't you? Oh, and reviewing would be nice. *winks* 


	2. Part 2

Disclaimer: Read the first part.  
  
Liz: Okay guys this here is the second part, it's going to be the more depressing part. I hope you enjoy it and please review. Okay one more think and I will get to the fic. I am going to put the last part of the first part up so I don't start in the middle of the conversation. So if it seems like I repeated that I did, but I did it for a reason. Ok now I am going to start the fic, enjoy and please review.  
  
Chelsea: Okay, I gotta get my two cents in! I am sorry about all the evil, possessed, freaky little symbols in the last chapter. I managed to fix everything but still. That isn't the point. But I think that's okay. I was very sad. Because I am always sad. Okay, not always. But even if I WAS always sad, you wouldn't care because that's not why you're here! So I will stop wasting space and let you move onto the fic now...  
  
A Note To Our Reviewers:  
  
Ultimateblood- Thank you SO much for the support ultimateblood! We love you lots! Thank you for your support! Hurrah! Lol...anyway, I hope you thoroughly enjoy this chapter. ^_~  
  
Carrie- I'm glad you liked it! We were worried no one would read it because it was Julie/Charlie. I personally think they're CUTE together...lol. ^_^ Thanks for the review and we're glad you like it! ^_^  
  
Moviechic189- Sorry for making you wait! We've been busy and well, we're very lazy. ^_^ Again, very sorry. But I hope you like this chapter! Now you can finally know what happened to Julie's dad...DUN DUN DUN! ---Part 2---  
  
Coach Bombay came in and told Charlie he needed to talk to him. Charlie nodded and followed the shorter, yet older, man out of the room. A few minutes later, they both came back in. Charlie looked worried but Bombay did not seem have any particular look on his face. Charlie went over to Julie and sat down next to her. Gordon Bombay came and sat down in front of them. Julie looked at Bombay and knew something was wrong.  
  
Julie looked worried. In a voice softer than usual, she asked, "Coach, what is it?"  
  
Bombay frowned and replied with a gentle voice. "Sweetie, I just got a phone call from the Hospital..."  
  
Julie looked between Charlie and Coach Bombay and started to get scared when she saw the looks on their faces.  
  
"Ok, what's wrong, what's happened?" Julie asked frightfully.  
  
Charlie wrapped his arm around her and rubbed her back.  
  
"Sweetie...uhh this is hard. First of all, they got your dad stabilized and he is doing much better. But umm...after they got him stabilized you mom crashed, both her lungs collapsed and they couldn't get them back up." Bombay looked at her the entire time he was saying this.  
  
At first, Julie didn't understand what he was telling her, but then it hit her full force. She didn't start crying at first; she just started shaking her head with a look of absolute horror.  
  
"No, no, oh god please no. Please Coach; tell me your not saying what I think you are. Please don't. No!!" Julie screamed, breaking down into hysteria.  
  
Julie knew what was happening but she just wouldn't accept it. She couldn't. She just kept shaking her head. Then she turned her head to Charlie who was trying his best not to start crying. Tears were streaming down her pale face. He hated seeing her like this. By this point Julie had started crying along with shaking her head back and forth, refusing to believe it.  
  
"Charlie, please tell me it's not true. Please." Julie cried; her face was contorted with agony. This couldn't be happening to her...it just...there was no way...  
  
Charlie didn't know what to do, he didn't know if he could tell her. He looked at Bombay, trying to figure out what he should do. Bombay nodded to Charlie and mouthed to him to tell her, she needed to hear it. Charlie didn't want to have to be the one to confirm the fear Julie had, but he knew he had to. He turned back to Julie who was now sobbing uncontrollably. He pulled her closer to him. She crumbled into his arms, feeling so helpless. She didn't want to believe it.  
  
"Julie, Angel, your mom didn't make it, her lungs were too damaged to be saved." Charlie said. Looking at her crying made him cry himself and pulled her into his lap and held her. He buried his head into her hair and bit his lip, rocking her back and forth.  
  
"Let it out sweetie, let it out." He said, trying to control himself too. When Julie was in pain, he could hardly stand it. When he saw her crying, it felt like someone had ripped out his heart and stomped on it. He bit his lip until a small trail of blood trailed down his chin to keep from sobbing right along with her. As long as she didn't HEAR him crying, she could think he was strong. He wouldn't have to seem weak in front of the one person that meant the most to him. He had to be the strong one. He had to be the one to give her comfort and the one for her to fall back on when she needed it. Julie had grown to be the most important thing to him. He didn't know when it happened, but somehow she had slipped her way into his life and taken hold of his heart. Coach Bombay sat across from Charlie and Julie watching them, not knowing what to do. Then he realized that he should get her to the hospital. He decided that he would give them a little while first. He stood up, walked over to Charlie and Julie, and bent down in front of them. He reached up and wiped a tear away from Julie face. "Hey Jules, I'm going to leave you two alone for a little bit, ok? But not for long; I need to get you to the hospital so you can see your daddy. If you want Charlie to come with you, that's fine. You can have whoever you want with you, okay? But right now you just stay right there alright?" He said gently. Julie nodded but never looked at him. She didn't want to think about leaving the spot she was in at the moment. She felt too safe. It seemed to her that when she was in Charlie's arms, the things going on right now weren't really happening. She knew that eventually she was going to have to get up, change, and face reality. She had to accept that her mom had just been killed in an accident on the way to her hockey game. When that thought went through her mind she pulled away from Charlie's shoulder. "OH GOD, OH GOD! Charlie this is my fault! I'm the reason my mom is dead right now!!!" Julie said starting to cry all over again. Charlie sat her down on the bench and kneeled down in front of her. He gently touched her face with his hand and pulled her face up a little to look at him. With his other hand he held her hand and squeezed it. "Julie, Angel, it is NOT your fault. It's not anybody's fault, well except for the person that hit them. But it isn't your fault, do you understand me?" he said gently while rubbing his hand across her cheek. "YES!!! Yes it is Charlie. I have been asking them all year to come to a game. They said okay and told me they would tell me when they were coming. I was so excited because they were going to get to see us play for real. Not only that but they were going to get to meet you and the rest of the team. So you see Charlie, if I hadn't wanted them to come and hadn't asked them, this wouldn't have happened." She cried, laying her head against his hand. He rubbed her cheek and sat up on his knees until he was high enough to pull her to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her face. (Chels can you try to re word this part i can't get it to come out the way i want it to. I want him to tell her that he can see how she thinks it is her fault but that it wasn't. That her parents had to want to come to the game to the game, they had to be willing to travel that far for it.) "Angel, sweetie, I can see how you can think it's your fault, but it isn't. Julie, your parents wanted to come see you. Yes you asked them, and begged them, but they were the one's that said yes. You mean the world to them and when they said they would come, it was out of love for you. You wanted them to come because you love them. Julie, it isn't your fault. They had wanted to come and they were willing to travel all the way from Bangor, Maine to see you play hockey in California. Julie, your mother wouldn't want you thinking it's your fault, because it isn't. This could have happened to anyone. So don't blame yourself Jules, it isn't your fault, okay?" He said, rocking her back and forth. Julie nodded against his chest. That had made her feel a lot better. "Good, now how about you get out of your gear and get some sweats on. Then you go and see your daddy, okay?" he asked her gently. She looked at him like he had just broken her heart. "Your not gonna come with me?!" She asked with a pathetic tone in her voice, and her lower lip quivering. "Do you want me to, Jules?" he asked. "YES!" she said, a stray tear falling down her cheek. "Okay, that's all you had to say, baby. That's all you had to say. All you have to do is ask, and I'll be there for you. Do you want Connie and Guy to come with us?" Charlie said softly. Julie thought about it for a minute. Connie was the only other girl on the team and she was her best friend, and so was Guy. She finally looked at Charlie and nodded. "But Charlie, I don't want to tell the rest of the team right now. Connie and Guy won't tell...I know they wont. Well you tell them for me? Please?" She asked softly, and Charlie nodded. "Okay, baby, I won't tell them either and yes, I will tell Connie and Guy. You go get ready and I will go find them and Coach Bombay, Okay?" he told her. She nodded and stood up, as did Charlie. "Where will we meet?" She asked. "We'll come back in here as soon as I find them and tell them." He told her and she nodded. "Okay, now go get a shower and some sweats. If you can get your bag ready we will send it back on the bus." He said and again she nodded. She started to walk off to the showers, but he caught her arm and pulled her into a hug. "It's going to be okay, Sweetie. I will help you through this, okay? So will Connie and Guy, and the rest of the Ducks, when you tell them. But for right now me, Connie, and Guy will get you through this." He said lovingly. She nodded. "Ok, now go on. I am going to go find Connie and Guy." She nodded again and he let go of her. They both walked separate ways, Julie to the showers, Charlie to find Connie and Guy. Charlie stopped at the door and looked at her, hating to leave her alone. "Will you be okay alone, Jules?" he asked her; she looked at him and nodded. He nodded back and left the locker room telling himself she would be okay. That she needed some time to herself. He saw Connie and Guy in front of him. They were laughing and having a good time. "I don't know if I can do this again." He said softly to himself. He walked over to them and gave them a weak smile. "Guys I need to talk to you two for a sec." He told them. Guy and Connie nodded and they walked away from the team. Charlie looked down and then started telling them about what was going on. When he had finished they both were looking at him with shocked faces. Connie was the first one that spoke up after Charlie told them.  
  
"She wants us to go with her?" she asked in a small voice.  
  
"Yes Connie, she does. She told me one time that, besides Dean and me, that you and Guy have been her best friends. She needs you two to be with her." Charlie said.  
  
"Okay. If she wants me there, I'll be there. What about our stuff?" Connie stated.  
  
"Coach Orion is going to come and get it so just leave it in there." Charlie instructed.  
  
Connie nodded and got her stuff ready, as did Guy. A few minutes later Bombay came in and walked over to them.  
  
"Hey guys, Julie has calmed down and is ready to go. Are you?" he asked and got three nods. "Okay then, lets go."  
  
They all left the locker room and got Julie. Connie and Guy hugged her when they meet up with her, and then Charlie wrapped his arm around her as they walked to the car. Guy, Charlie, and Julie sat in the back with Julie in between Guy and Charlie. The whole ride to the hospital was quiet; Julie had her head on Charlie's shoulder and was holding Guy's hand. She didn't cry; she just set there staring off out the window. When they got to the hospital she nearly lost it again. Charlie saw this and pulled her closer to him, burying his face in her soft blond hair. When he did that it made her feel better, she hugged him back and pulled away.  
  
"Thanks Charlie, I needed that." She said softly, "I think I am ready now."  
  
"You sure sweetheart? Take your time." Bombay said.  
  
"No, I am ready. If I postpone this I will never get the nerve to do it again. I want to go now." She said, trying not to start crying again.  
  
"Alright then, lets go." Bombay said getting out of the car, locking it once the others had gotten out. They went inside and told the nurse at the desk that she was Julie Gaffney and that they were there to see Mr. Gaffney. The nurse nodded and gave her a sympathetic smile.  
  
"Ok, do you want to see your father or mother first? Her body is still in the room." She said gently. Julie just stayed there for a minute.  
  
"I can see her?" she asked in a very soft voice. The nurse didn't say anything just nodded.  
  
"Can I see my dad first, I want to see him first...then I will see her."  
  
"Okay, that will be fine. He is in room 420, so go on up. You can see your mom whenever you are ready. Just tell the nurse up there when you are and she will take you to her." The nurse said gently. Julie nodded and turned to the elevators and walking off before they could see the tears in her eyes.  
  
Charlie watched her go and turned to Bombay, Guy, and Connie. "I'm worried about her, guys. This is really going to be hard on her. I think she is taking this harder than she is letting on."  
  
Bombay nodded. "You're probably right Charlie, but you know what we have to do?"  
  
Charlie looked at him, "What?"  
  
"Well first of all, we need to catch up to her before she gets on the elevator by herself. But most importantly we have to make sure that we are always there for her, but not to crowd her. If she wants a little time by herself then we will let her. But we need to let her know that we are all here for her, always." Bombay said to them. They started walking towards the elevator and Julie who was just staring at the doors. She hadn't hit the button.  
  
Charlie watched her as they walked toward her. "Yeah, I know what you mean, Coach." He walked over to Julie and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.  
  
"Why won't they open Charlie? They won't open." She said pathetically. He could tell she was out of it.  
  
"Sweetie did you hit the button?" he asked her sweetly. She looked up at him, and shook her head no. He gave her a re-assuring smile, "then that is why they haven't opened yet. Gotta hit the button for them to open." He said hugging her and kissing the top of her head lightly. He let go of her and hit the button for the elevator. When the little light that marked what floor the elevator was currently on began blinking and moving, he went back to her and put his arm back around her as they waited for it to come. The elevator finally opened and they walked in. When they got in, Charlie hit the button for the floor and looked down at Julie; he noticed that she was bawling. He immediately went to her and wrapped his around her.  
  
"Why are you here Charlie? I am so stupid, I mean I beg my parents to come and when they do my mom gets killed. And I can't even work an elevator. So Charlie, why are you with me?" Julie asked crying. She hated herself. She couldn't understand why Charlie would want to be with such a screw-up girl who was the cause of her own mother's death.  
  
"Julie Ann Gaffney, you are not stupid. You are smart, beautiful, sweet, adorable, and a damn fine hockey player. It's not your fault this happened. The person, who was drunk, that hit them is the person at fault, not you. I promise. Your just upset Julie; you are upset, not stupid. You have a right to be upset too; your mom just died. You're in shock. That's why you were just standing there. And Julie, hun, that is okay. We are going to take care of you, just don't walk off like that. It's okay, and you're not stupid. As for why I am here with you...Julie, I love you with all of my heart; I always have, since the day I met you. I am here because the girl I am so in love with is in a lot of pain and she needs me. I will be here with you through the whole thing Julie; I am even going to call my mom see if you can stay with us for a little while. I know she well say yes; she has always wanted another girl in the house. Does that take care of your questions?" Charlie said rubbing her cheek.  
  
She nodded but was crying. She leaned her head into his hand. When she did that he pulled her to him and just held her. They had gotten off the elevator but hadn't gone anywhere else. Guy, Connie, and Bombay were standing a little ways from them to give them a little room. Charlie pulled away from her, kissing her on the forehead.  
  
"Ready to go see your dad, Julie?" he asked her.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so." She sniffed.  
  
"Okay, come on lets go." He said, wiping the rest of her tears away. He led her and the rest of their group to the room and knocked on the door. Julie's brother came to the door and engulfed her in a hug. He explained to her that he was coming up also but he flew. The hospital contacted him at the hotel when their parents got there. When he got done telling them this he asked her if she was ready to see their dad.  
  
"Yeah, I guess, I am." She answered softly.  
  
"Okay." Jason said.  
  
"What Jase? Can they come in too? I want them to come too." She asked.  
  
"Of course kid." Jason said. Julie gave a weak grin and they all walked in the room together.  
  
"Hey dad, Princess Julie is here to see you." Jason said. Their dad looked over to them and looked at her.  
  
"Hello Julie." He said rudely.  
  
"Hi daddy." She said hiding the hurt of the way he addressed her. "I came as soon as I could."  
  
"You shouldn't have; your brother and I are going home as soon as they let me out of here." He said rudely again. "Whether you come or not is up to you; I don't care."  
  
"Daddy, what about mom? What about the funeral?" she asked softly.  
  
"Oh, well you can come home for that and then come back here." He said.  
  
"You don't want me to stay for a little bit?" she asked trying not to cry.  
  
"No." He said.  
  
Julie just stood there heart broken, crying. She didn't understand why he was being so mean. The longer she stood there the harder she cried.  
  
"Jason get her out of here." Mr. Gaffney screamed. Jason didn't want to because he wanted his dad to talk to her but that would just make him mad.  
  
"Come on Julie, I know you don't want to, but lets go." Jason said softly to her, wrapping his arm around her and leading her out. Charlie and the others were upset and confused also. But they left with the rest. When they got out of the room, Charlie wrapped her up in his arms. They stood like that for a long time just holding her. Even Connie, Guy and Bombay held her.  
  
When they all parted, Charlie asked Julie if she wanted a drink before seeing her mom. He figured she'd need to unwind from her father before facing her mother's dead corpse.  
  
Julie nodded solemnly and followed him to the coke machine. He slipped in a dollar, hit the Pepsi button and handed the cold beverage to Julie when it fell to the bottom.   
  
She gave him a light smile. She knew things were going to be hard...she was just glad she had Charlie... What's going to happen? Well you will just have to review and find out in the next chapter. I know that is a sucky place to end it but I couldn't figure out a good place to end it. Hope you enjoy it; I can't wait to read the reviews. 


	3. Part 3

Part 3  
  
Liz: I am so sorry that I haven't updated in a while; I got into writing another fic that you might have read, The College Years. I had this part written already, but when I went to post it, I discovered that I had accidentally deleted it. Having that happened and knowing that I had to re- write this part discouraged me, and I didn't want to redo it. But I am, so here it is.  
  
C-chan: Nothing to say...except how tired I am...need...sleep...so if I missed any mistakes, I'm sorry. Lack of sleep does that to ya...  
  
A note to our Reviewers:  
  
STarvixen1: I am glad you like this story, and the Julie/Charlie part. I am sorry that I haven't updated in a while but the explanation is above in my author note. Please continue to read and review. Oh and if you want a less depressing Julie/Charlie, I have another story called the College Years, that is really popular.  
  
STarvixen1: LOL you posted it twice, but that is ok, that has happened to me. Thanks for reviewing!!!!  
  
moviechic189: LOL you said toilet, that is funny; what is even more funny is you thought it was funny that you said toilet. LOL. Ok, ignore that part; I am just being weird, which isn't all that new. Anyways, yes her dad is an ass, and I am glad you hate him because he isn't going to be all that nice in any of this. Thanks for reviewing, and like I said before, if you want to read a less depressing one after this Chapter, I have a second Julie/Charlie fic called the College Years. Anyways, hope you like this.  
  
---Part 3---  
  
After they had finished their Pepsi, Charlie wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, sitting down. They didn't speak; they just set there, Julie laying her head on his chest. After a while Charlie rubbed her back and pushed her up a little bit.  
  
"Are you ready to go see you mom?" he asked her; her face clouded over a little bit and he thought she was going to start crying again. But she didn't, she just nodded.  
  
"Okay, let's go find a nurse then." He said, standing her up before he stood up himself. She once again didn't say anything and instead nodded. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and they went in search of a nurse that could show them where her mom was.  
  
Finally they found one and Charlie got her attention.  
  
"Yes, can I help you?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, umm. My girlfriend's parents were in a car wreck, which killed her mom. When we got here she decided that she wanted to see her dad first. They said that when she was done seeing him and ready to see her mom that we should find a nurse to take us to her. I was wondering if you could take us to her." Charlie explained.  
  
"Sure, but first I need to know her name." The nurse said, then seeing the confused look on his face, "Not your girlfriend's name, her mother's, so that I can look up the room number."  
  
"Oh yeah, I knew that...really. Been a long day. Umm, her name is Marie, Marie Gaffney." He told the nurse.  
  
"Okay, stay here. I will be right back." She told him and walked off.  
  
"Charlie, where did she go? Isn't she going to take us to Mama?" Julie asked Charlie pathetically.  
  
"Yes angel, she is. She just has to find out where your mom is, and she will be right back." Charlie said gently, giving her a worried look when he realized that she was still in shock about everything. He then went into a fowler mood, because he realized that the incident with her father hadn't helped at all. He looked at her again and pulled her closer to him. A few minutes later the nurse came back and led them to the room that Marie was in. "You can stay as long as you need. Take your time." She said to them. "And I am sorry about your loss."  
  
"Thank you." Charlie said to the nurse then turning to Julie. "Ready sweetie?"  
  
"I guess." Julie said softly. He smiled and gently led her into the room and frowned when she wouldn't budge past the door.  
  
"Come on Julie, I am right here, I'm not going to leave you." He said urging her to go in. He gave her a gentle smile when she started walking towards the bed. When she saw her mom lying on the bed, she smiled.  
  
"Charlie, she isn't dead. She is just sleeping. What were they thinking when they said that she had died." She said, obviously in denial. Charlie sighed, wishing it wasn't him that had to explaining to her that her mom was not sleeping.  
  
"Julie they were telling the truth. The doctors wouldn't have teased with something like death." He said as softly and gently as he could. She just looked at him with a blank look on her face for a few minutes, before her face contorted into a look of pain and broke down. He ran to her and wrapped her up in his arms. He didn't say anything at first; he just held her and let her cry.  
  
"It's going to be okay, Jules. I am going to help you through this if you will let me. You just have to let me and I will. So will Connie and Guy if you want; so will the rest of the team. But all you have to do is let us; ask and we will be there for you." He told her gently.  
  
"I DON'T WANT THE WHOLE TEAM TO KNOW!!" She cried, "Not right now anyways."  
  
"Okay, the Coach, Connie, Guy, and I will be the only ones that know." He said, "Is that right?"  
  
"Yes." She said softly. He held her a little longer, before he realized that she was staring back at her mom. He looked at his watch and winced, remembering that he had told his mom that he wouldn't be to late when he called her and told her what was going on. He dreaded what he was about to have to do and pulled a little bit away from Julie.  
  
"Julie, I told my mom we wouldn't be out late and it is getting pretty late. We need to find Coach, Connie, and Guy and go. " He told her.  
  
"NO!!! I'm not ready. Please, just a little bit longer?" She begged him. He was about to say something then got an idea.  
  
"I'll tell you what Jules, you stay here; stay with your mom. I'll go find Coach, Connie and Guy, and then come back to get you. What do you say?" He asked her.  
  
"Okay, sounds good to me." She agreed. "But Charlie? Am I staying with you tonight?"  
  
"Yes, Julie. I couldn't bare the thought of you in the dorm. Neither could my mom, so she agreed to you staying at the apartment. She also said that if you wanted. Connie and Guy could stay also. " He told her smiling at the almost happy look on her face.  
  
"Really? They can stay?" She asked, and he nodded. "Yeah!!!! God. I just sounded like a cheerleader."  
  
"Yeah you did." He said jokingly as he laughed at her. She glared at him and elbowed him in the ribs. "OWW!!! And with that note I am going to find the others."  
  
He left and she turned around and continued to stare at her mom. Charlie, on the other hand, headed back towards Julie's dad's room hoping that they would still be there. When he got there he was happy to see that they hadn't moved. "Thank God!!! Coach, we need a ride to my house. I told my mom that we wouldn't be out to late. And Julie is getting tired." Charlie told Bombay.  
  
"Okay then, lets go. Are all four of you going to your mom's apartment?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah, mom said it was okay." Charlie said.  
  
"That's good." Bombay said nodding his head, "In that case, lets go."  
  
"Okay." Charlie said and gave Connie and Guy a weak smile, getting one in return from both.  
  
"Charlie? Where is Julie?" Connie said.  
  
"She wasn't ready to leave yet, but said that she would when I got back. She begged me to let her stay a little longer, so I said that I would go and find you guys and then we would get her on the way back, and she agreed." Charlie explained.  
  
"Okay, that's good; she needed a little time to think." Coach said, "Lets go and get her."  
  
The other three agreed and they walked off towards where Julie was. They got there and Charlie went in to get her. She was standing at the edge of the bed, holding her mom's hand. When she heard him come in, she kissed her mom's cheek and turned around towards Charlie. There were fresh tears running down her face, but she smiled and went to him. He didn't have to ask her if she was ready; he could tell. So he wrapped his arm around her and they left the room. They went back to the car and Bombay took them to Charlie's mom's apartment. When they got into the apartment Casey hugged her, Charlie, Connie and Guy. They went into the living room where they just sat and talked about anything and everything, except what had happened that day.  
  
Okay, well that is it for tonight. I am sorry about the abrupt ending but I couldn't think of a way to end it. So I ended it there. Please review and tell me what you think. Your reviews help me go on with the story. 


	4. Part 4

Chapter Four  
The Funeral  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks; they belong to Disney. I don't own the song "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" either. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber does.  
  
A/N: Hey guys; I am so sorry that it took so long for me to update, but I had a major case of writer's block on this story. But I finally got an idea for it and so here I am. Please review if you can, I'm not getting all that many reviews on this story and it is kind of depressing me. So please review if you can, Thanks.  
  
Note to my reviewers:  
  
KShyne99: Thank you for reviewing, It made me feel a lot better about the story. I am glad you like Charlie/Julie together. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Have you read my other stories? The College Years and Getting You Back? Well if you haven't a lot of people really enjoy those stories and they are Julie/Charlie fics. So please read them if you haven't already. Talk to you soon.  
  
C-chan96: Thanks Chels I'm glad that you liked it as usual. Very nice job on the ode to Charlie * Claps and Cheers *. I liked it very much * Grins *. Well I hope you enjoy this chapter, I am sure you will. * Grins* Oh and I got an idea on how to end this story. I'll tell you on IM cause I don't want to ruin it for the other readers. So just remind me and I will tell you. Anyways I'll talk to you soon, hope you enjoy.  
  
Ok well that is done so now I well get on with the chapter. Hope you enjoy!!!  
  
-Chapter 4-  
  
Three days later Julie Gaffney was sitting in the church were her mother's funeral was being held. She was sitting next to her Father and her grandmother. Charlie, Connie, Guy, and Coach Bombay were sitting several pews behind her. Jason was up on the stage telling about things that he would miss, but would cherish the things that their mother would do for them. Julie smiled through her tears, thinking about all the things he was telling about. She thought back to one memory of a conversation with her mom that had happened only a few months before.  
  
***Flashback***  
  
Julie walked into her house in Bangor, Maine feeling like crap. She had just gotten into a fight with he ex-boyfriend that she had broken up with a couple years before because he had cheated on her. But she had long gotten over it and had moved on. In fact, she and a certain Captain of the Ducks had started to get closer and hang out a lot. 'I can't wait to go back to Minnesota and can hang out with Charlie and the Ducks again. At least he won't be a jackass like Jack.' She thought to herself.  
  
Julie was so caught up in thinking about Charlie and the Ducks that she hadn't realized that her mother was standing right in front of her.  
  
"Julie, honey; are you okay?" Her mom asked her.  
  
"Huh? Oh hey mom. What did you ask me?" She said, sounding stopped up.  
  
"I asked if you are okay. But by the way you sound I would say the answer is no. What's wrong sweetie?" She asked her daughter.  
  
Julie sighed and looked down at her feet. "Jack told me that him and his family are moving, and he got mad when I didn't say anything. I told him I didn't know what his problem was and what he expected me to say because we have been broken up about two years and haven't spoken to each other tell about four hours ago. I told him I was over him and have moved on. Not to mention I'm going out with someone else. He got mad and told me that he thought we had said that we would wait for each other. Well, that just pissed me off and I reminded him of why we had broken up in the first place; him cheating on me. He rolled his eyes and walked off, and that is when I came home." She explained to her mother.  
  
"THAT JACK ASS!!! I can't believe he expected that of you after what he did to you. AHH, WHAT A JACK ASS!!!" Marie Gaffney screamed and Julie laughed.  
  
"Yeah, that is about what I was thinking." Julie said, still laughing.  
  
"Julie, did you say that you told Jack that you were going out with someone else?" Marie asked her.  
  
Julie's eyes got huge at what her mom had just asked and then she blushed and looked down. "Yeah, I did tell him that...and it is almost true. We're not really going out officially, just hanging out and stuff." She explained.  
  
"Uh-huh. Well are you going to tell me who it is that you are hanging out with?" she asked her again.  
  
"Umm...Charlie." Julie said grinning.  
  
"THE CAPTIAN!!! That is awesome Julie; he is so cute and sweet. Good choice Jules." Her mom said.  
  
"Thank you mom; but remember we're not officially together yet." Julie said.  
  
"Okay, but you have to promise me that when you get together with him that you will tell me. Okay?" She asked her daughter, grinning.  
  
"Okay mom, I promise." Julie said grinning and then promptly sneezed.  
  
"Bless you Julie; let's go and get you something for your allergies." Her mom said and wrapped an arm around her and led her into the living room and to the couch. When she got Julie on the couch she went and got her some Tylenol Sinus and a cup of water. She walked back into the living room and handed Julie the Tylenol and water. Julie took it and smiled up at her mom in thanks. Her mom set down and pulled her into her arms like she would always do when she was sick.  
  
*** End Flashback ***  
  
Tears came streaming down Julie's checks as she thought about that day. Her mom had taken good care of her that day. She then stared at her brother who was still talking about their mom. She started thinking about what he had gone through to get their dad to let her sing today. It had taken several long hours of arguing to convince him to let her sing. She had run out of the house and had run into her old hockey team at the rink. That was where Jason and Charlie had found her.  
  
*** Flashback***  
  
Julie was skating and laughing with some of her old friends. They were talking about the pranks they would do on people back when she was still on the team before she went to the Goodwill Games. She was having a good time and decided not to think about her problems right then. Well, she hadn't planed on it, but her plans were shattered when John started talking about her mom and some things she had done.  
  
"Hey guys, do you remember when Marie came and helped us sneak in here so that we could have a party?" John asked and they all cheered except Julie who cringed. She hoped that they hadn't noticed her reaction about what they had said, and her wish came true.  
  
"Yeah, that was great; she did a lot of other things like that for us too." Chris said and they all agreed, even Julie who really didn't want to be talking about this.  
  
"Hey Julie, do you think we could talk your mom into helping us have another lock in?" Less asked her. She looked at him for a second before a bitter smile came to her face.  
  
"I wish I could say yes guys, but I can't." She said looking down at her feet, then back at her friends. "They were on their way to one of my hockey games when a drunk driver ran a red light and hit them...on my mom's side. They got them to the hospital and got her stabilized, but they weren't having so much luck with my dad; they couldn't get him stabilized. Finally they were able to get him stabilized and put them both in a room. They monitored my dad more than my mom because she had been so easy to stabilize and they hadn't thought that daddy was going to make it. But what they hadn't know was that mama's lungs had been punctured and not long after they had gotten daddy stabilized she started crashing because her lungs had collapsed." She explained, trying not to tear up and start crying.  
  
"Oh my gosh, Julie; that is horrible." John said, skating to her and wrapping her in his arms. She gladly buried her head in his chest and cried.  
  
"But that isn't the worst of it. Daddy hates me now because he thinks I am the reason she is dead. And you know what? I am starting to believe that it was my fault. Because I was the one that had begged them to come to the game and they did 'cause I asked them." Julie cried into his chest.  
  
"Julie, it wasn't your fault they came because they wanted to, not just because you asked them to." John told her.  
  
"I know, but sometimes with the way he treats me, I start feeling that way." Julie said softly.  
  
"Well don't let him get to you okay? Keep believing it isn't your fault and don't let him make you believe anything else, alright?" John said and she nodded.  
  
"Good girl. Now how about we forget this for a little bit, huh? You look like you need to; and it isn't disrespectful, you're free to and if you don't you'll get sick." He continued.  
  
"Okay, sounds good to me." She said, and then looking into the stands where she saw someone coming. She let go of John and skated closer, and realized that it was Jason and Charlie.  
  
"JASON!!! CHARLIE!!! What are you two doing here?" She asked them.  
  
"We came to find you; we have something to tell you." Jason said trying not to smile.  
  
"What is it?" She asked.  
  
"Well after several hours of arguing, Jason convinced your dad to let you sing." Charlie said smiling at her.  
  
"You mean it?!" She asked excited as she could be about it.  
  
"Yep. He isn't happy about it, but he is going to let you get up there after I talk." Jason said giving a light smile, which was returned by Julie.  
  
"So you two want to come and play with us?" Julie asked. "I don't want to go home yet."  
  
"Sure." Jason and Charlie said at the same time.  
  
"Cool, I'll see you in a few minutes." She said and skated back to her friends.  
  
Jason then led Charlie to where the locker room was, handing the younger boy some extra skates the team had. They put them on and started towards the ice, meeting Julie on her way into the locker room.  
  
"Hey Julie, where you going?" Jason asked his baby sister.  
  
"I was coming to make sure you remembered where the skates were." She said, "I also wanted to talk to Charlie about something."  
  
Jason smiled and patted her on the back, "Alright, I'll just go bug your friends."  
  
Julie rolled her eyes. "Have fun."  
  
"Oh, I will." Jason said and walked off. Julie then turned to Charlie and smiled shyly.  
  
"Hey, Julie." He said and reached out and hugged her. "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"  
  
Julie looked down at the ground for a minute and then looked back up at him, "What are we? Are we just friends? Or are we more?"  
  
"Julie, I think we are more than friends. We have definitely become closer over the last couple months." He told her and she gave him the brightest smile he had seen in the last week. "Why?"  
  
"Well, the main reason is that I had been wanting to know that for a long time and have been trying to get enough courage to ask you. I know what you're probably thinking; you're thinking I'm the 'cat lady.' I'm not supposed to be scared, but I am. There are just a few things that get me scared: spiders and confronting a guy about what our relationship... Okay, I'm getting of track. The other reason is that my mom promised me that I would tell her when we got together, because we kind of had a conversation about you and me a couple months ago when I was home for a couple weeks. I never got to tell her that we got together. I wanted to do that tomorrow, when I get up there and sing. If it is okay with you that is." She told him.  
  
"Julie, I have no problems with you doing that." Charlie said hugging her back to him.  
  
"Really?" she said looking at him.  
  
"Yes, that way you'll be keeping your promise to her." Charlie said kissing her nose.  
  
She smiled up at him and laid her head back on his chest. He hugged her for a while before pulling away and grinning mischievously at her.  
  
"What do you say about showing your old team how the Ducks play?" He asked.  
  
"But there is just two of us." She told him.  
  
"Nope. Connie and Guy came too. They're in the locker room getting some skates. They didn't come down because we told them to stay up there." He told her and she grinned.  
  
"Okay!!" She said smiling at him. He went back to the locker room to get Connie and Guy while Julie went back on the ice. When the other three got back, they played for about two hours before Jason told Julie that they needed to go so they could go to the Funeral Home for visitations.  
  
***End Flashback***  
  
"Thank you for listening to me and my memories of my mother. I hope you will enjoy my baby sister and some of her memories also." Jason said to the crowd and brought Julie out of her thoughts.  
  
She stood up and walked towards the stage, stopping to look at her mom for a minute; then she started walking back up towards where Jason was standing. While she was walking up there, he had fixed the microphone so that it would be the right height for her.  
  
"Good luck Julie; you're going to do great." Jason told her patting her on the back and left the stage. She looked down for a second to gather her strength, and then looked back up at the crowd.  
  
"There is a song that I am going to sing that mama loved. It is from the Phantom of the Opera, where Christian is at the graveyard singing to her father. I know it is several years after her father died, but mama loved it. I remember when we went to see the play at that part she started crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me it reminded her of her mom. My mama said that she had problems saying goodbye when her own mother died. Well, when my dad consented to let me sing up here today, I knew exactly what I was going to sing. So...anyway...the song is called 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again.'" Julie said, keeping her voice as even as possible.  
  
She opened her mouth and closed her eyes, allowing the sound of her voice to carry throughout the room.  
  
You were once  
  
my one companion ...  
  
you were all  
  
that mattered ...  
  
You were once  
  
a friend and father -  
  
then my world  
  
was shattered ...  
  
Wishing you were  
  
somehow here again ...  
  
wishing you were  
  
somehow near ...  
  
Sometimes it seemed  
  
if I just dreamed,  
  
somehow you would  
  
be here ...  
  
Wishing I could  
  
hear your voice again ...  
  
knowing that I  
  
never would ...  
  
Dreaming of you  
  
won't help me to do  
  
all that you dreamed  
  
I could ...  
  
Passing bells  
  
and sculpted angels,  
  
cold and monumental,  
  
seem, for you,  
  
the wrong companions -  
  
you were warm and gentle ...  
  
Too many years  
  
fighting back tears ...  
  
Why can't the past  
  
just die ...?  
  
Wishing you were  
  
somehow here again ...  
  
knowing we must  
  
say goodbye ...  
  
Try to forgive ...  
  
teach me to live ...  
  
give me the strength  
  
to try ...  
  
No more memories,  
  
no more silent tears ...  
  
No more gazing across  
  
the wasted years ...  
  
Help me say  
  
goodbye  
  
When she had finished, she had tears running down her face. She looked out at the crowd and found that they were all crying also. "Another reason I wanted to sing that song was that in the past few years my mom and I didn't get much time to spend together because I was away at a private school. When I found out she had died, I felt guilty for asking them to come because I felt it was my fault. But with the help of a friend I realized that it wasn't my fault because it was their choice to come. It isn't anyone's fault except the person who was drunk that hit them. I also felt guilty because I haven't had much time to spend with my mom, and I realized that I was going to have to have someone to 'help me say goodbye.'" She told the crowd but was really talking to her father.  
  
She looked down for a couple minutes again and then looked back up, "Along with the song there was something I wanted to tell my mama. I know you probably think I am crazy, so I will tell you the reason behind this. You see a couple months ago, I had gone home for a couple weeks, and one day I came home not feeling very good and was in a bad mood cause I had gotten into a fight with a guy I...well, it isn't important. Anyways, my mom had me sit down and tell her why I was so mad. I told her about the fight. While I was telling her I let it slip that I was going out with someone, or wasn't really but was really close. She asked me who it was and I told her. She was really happy and made me promise that when we got together that I would tell her." She explained and then looked up towards the sky, "Well mama, as of about a week in a half ago, we are together, and as I promised, you're are the first to know." She said then looked back at the crowd, "Thanks for listening."  
  
She then walked off the stage and went back to her sit next to her father and grandparents. The preacher went up and started talking for a little while and then he released them to view the body for the last time, and head for the cemetery. Once they were all at the cemetery, the preacher started talking again, but Julie wasn't really listening. She was staring at the casket. It hadn't hit her until just then that her mother wasn't coming back. When she was still in the hospital, she knew that she was gone but had the hope that maybe some how she would come back; that she was in a coma or something. But now, sitting there at the cemetery staring at the casket, she knew that her mother wasn't coming back. She started crying harder than she had all-day and leaned forward with her head in her hands. Charlie saw this and reached over, pulling her to him and hugging her to him for the rest of the service.  
  
When it was over Julie, her family, and friends went home to eat supper. Julie's dad was ignoring her even more than usual, but Julie didn't really notice...or if she did, she was pretending not to notice. The rest of the group, except for George, watched her with worry. She finished eating her lunch, looked up at them, gave them a weak smile, and got up, going to her room. Charlie decided that he would leave her alone for a while, and then go and check on her.  
  
The rest of them finished their supper and went their separate ways. Charlie, Connie, Guy, and Jason all went to the living room to watch TV while George went to his room for the night. Charlie knew that there was something bothering Julie's father, but he didn't know what it was. But he knew one thing for sure; Julie was probably going to get it tomorrow, and what ever it was that was bothering him, probably wasn't her fault.  
  
Ok well that is the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, please review if you can. Your reviews keep me inspired. So far I have three more Chapters planed, but more might come to me, I don't know. Anyways thanks for reading, and I'll talk to you soon. Oh and one more thing, Chelsea thank you so much for editing this chapter. I would have probably not updated it if you hadn't have been able to edit it. Anyways thanks again, talk to you later. 


	5. Part 5

Chapter 5  
Argument with Daddy A/N: Thank you to all of those that have reviewed, I am really happy when I get reviews, they help me stay inspired. Anyways I hope you like this chapter, it is a little longer than the others I think. Please review if you can.  
  
Note to my Reviews:  
  
C-chan96: AHH I love you too. We haven't seen each other lately and that is really depressing me. We need to get together soon. Anyways I am glad you liked the story and the song. The flashbacks were fun, even thought they were depressing. I'll tell you about the rest later since we have both forgotten to bring it up. LOL Like the quotes their great. Well I'll talk to you soon.  
  
Banksiesbabe99: I'm glad you liked the chapter. As for The Phantom, go get it at a music store or somewhere but make sure you get the original cast with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. It is better with them. The story of the Phantom is absolutely awesome and the whole thing isn't all that depressing just that part. It is really a love story. But I'm not going to get completely started on that cause I could talk about Phantom for another five or six pages. LOL. So if you want to talk to me about it or have me tell you some more information about it email me. My email address is lizgail2003@hotmail.com. I'll be glad to tell you more about it. Anyways thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you liked it and please review if you can. Talk to you soon.  
  
Charlie was woken up early the next morning to Julie walking in to his room. He set up a little bit and turned the lam on, and quickly knew that something was wrong with her.  
  
"Julie, angel, what's the matter?" he asked her gently.  
  
"Daddy hates me, he won't talk to me or look at me anymore." She told him, looking down at her feet.  
  
"Julie come here baby." He said to her pulling himself up completely and moving over so that she could sit down next to him. She walked over to his bed and set down next to him, and was immediately enveloped into his arms and pulled to closer to him. She curled up next to him and buried her head in his chest.  
  
"Julie you may not believe this, but your dad doesn't hate you. He is upset because he lost his wife and angry at the world because of it. I know it isn't fair, but that is why hi is treating you this way. " He told her, "It's going to be ok, I promise. It's going to be hard because he is going to continue this but you'll get through it, and I'll always be here to help you when you need me ok?" He told her rubbing her back.  
  
Julie couldn't respond because she had started crying harder when she cuddled up to him a few minutes before, he just nodded. Charlie kissed her forehead and continued to rub her back. After awhile she was able to stop crying and calm down a little. He pulled her up a little bit so that he could see her and smiled reassuringly at her.  
  
"You feel any better Julie?" He asked her.  
  
"Yea, a little." She said.  
  
"That's good." He said kissing her forehead again. "Do you want to stay in here or do you want to go back into your room?"  
  
"I want to stay in here." She said cuddling closer to him.  
  
"Ok, that's fine." He said gently scooting down so that they were both laying down.  
  
As soon as she was lying down, Julie was fast asleep. Charlie watched her sleep for a little while before he to went to sleep.  
  
The next morning Charlie woke up a few minutes before Julie and laid with his arm wrapped around her playing with her long blond hair. As he did this she started waking up, she buried her head in his chest before opening her eyes and looking at him. He gave her a encouraging smile and raised his head up a little bit so that he could kiss her forehead. She smiled back at him and laid her head back on his chest.  
  
"Hey Julie, how'd ya sleep?" He asked her playing with her hair again.  
  
"Great, after I came in here." She told him and smiled.  
  
"That's great." He told her smiling again.  
  
"Yea." She said in a halfhearted way like only she can do and he laughed.  
  
"Want to go see if there is anything to eat? I'm hungry." He said still laughing a little bit.  
  
"That sounds like a great idea." She said grinning at him.  
  
"Ok then, let's go." He said and they both got up and left the room.  
  
They walked to the living room to see if anyone was in there, but there wasn't so they went to the kitchen to get something to eat. When they got in there they found Mr. Gaffney in there eating some toast and reading the newspaper. He looked up to see who had walked in and when he realized it was Julie he just acted like she wasn't there and went back to his newspaper. Julie started to say something but changed her mind and decided to act like she didn't notice that he ignored her. She went to the refrigerator and got out some milk and then opened the freezer and got some waffles and puts them in the toaster. She then goes back to the refrigerator and got the butter and syrup out. After she had gotten everything out they waffles popped up and she got them out, buttered them and put syrup on them. When she finished that she turned and gave Charlie a plate and set down next to him. Just before she started to eat her dad put his newspaper down and looked at her for the first time since after the funeral.  
  
"Julie, I need to talk to you in my office." He said starting to get up.  
  
"Ok." She said, "Can I finish eating first?"  
  
"No and don't get rude with me." He told her.  
  
"But dad, I just sat down, couldn't you wait tell after I eat?" Julie said getting mad since she had just set down.  
  
"NO JULIE!! I said now, and I mean now." He yelled at her.  
  
Julie cringed he had never yelled at her like that. She got up and pushed her waffles to Charlie cause she had a feeling she wasn't going to feel like eating afterwards. She then followed her dad into his office, still feeling confused about why he wanted to talk to her.  
  
Meanwhile Charlie had stopped eating, he was to worried about Julie to really want to eat. He got up and ran to where he knew Jason's room was and knocked on his door.  
  
"Jason, man open up!!!" Charlie said sounding panicked.  
  
Jason came to the door a couple minutes later and opened it up. He saw the look on Charlie's face and opened the door a little wider to let him in.  
  
"Charlie what's wrong?" Jason asked him.  
  
"Julie and I went into the kitchen and made some waffles for break feast and your dad was in there. He ignored us and read his paper until we set down, and then when we set down and went to start eating he told Julie he wanted to talk to her and got up. She asked if she could eat first and he started yelling at her. She looked scared and got up and followed him into the office. That is when I came in here." Charlie told him.  
  
"OH God what is he going to yell at her about now?" he asked more to his self, then looked at Charlie, "Come on man lets go wait at the door for her."  
  
"Ok." Charlie said and they left Jason's room and walked to the door of Jason's dad's office to listen.  
  
*** Inside the Office***  
  
"So daddy what did you want to talk about?" Julie asked when her and her dad got in the office.  
  
"There are a couple things. First of all I didn't appreciate you announcing to the crowd about the fact that you are dating someone. It was very inconsiderate of you." He told her and her jaw dropped.  
  
"But daddy, as I said I had promised Mamma that I would tell her when we got together. I hadn't gotten the chance to before. I didn't want her to be were I couldn't see when I told her. I was just making sure I didn't break my promise." She said trying not to start crying.  
  
"I don't care it wasn't very respectable, you could have done it before, when no one was there." He said sternly.  
  
"But daddy, it wouldn't have been the same. I was telling about a memory like Jason had been doing before me. I was telling them about the conversation I had with mamma when I was home about three months ago. That is why I said it then, instead of before the funeral." She said trying to get her father to understand her.  
  
"Whatever, I didn't appreciate it, I really don't thing you should be going out with him." He said.  
  
"WHAT!!" She yelled, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON"T THINK I SHOULD BE GOING OUT WITH HIM. YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HIM!!!!!"  
  
"JULIE ANN GAFFNEY DON"T YOU DARE RASE YOUR VOICE TO ME LIKE THAT YOUNG LADY!!!!" He screamed back at her making her take a step back away from him.  
  
"You don't know him. He is sweet, gentle, and protective. Use to that would have made you really happy to know that someone was protective of you little princess. But I guess that's not true anymore, hug?" She said coldly, " He was the one that was there when I was told about mamma. He held me in the locker room and let me cry. He went with me to the hospital when I came to see you, and held me when you pushed me away cause you were and still are blaming me for the accident. He freaking came here with me to support me. I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend, cause there isn't one, and I don't know why you don't think we should be together." She said tears streaming down her checks.  
  
"Well he might have done all that stuff for you, but I still don't think you two should be together. " He said sternly.  
  
"Mamma liked him daddy. Doesn't that mean something to you. She never liked any of my boyfriends, but she liked Charlie. Doesn't that tell you something that she liked him?" She asked him softly.  
  
"Doesn't matter now does it?" He asked.  
  
"DADDY!! Why are you like this? Ever since the wreck you have hated me. Don't you see that I need you. Don't you!!" She yelled.  
  
"No I don't!! Because you don't need me what you need to realize is that you were the one that caused this to happen. Because you asked us to come and see one of your games." He said coldly causing her to brake down crying.  
  
"THATS NOT TRUE!" She cried, "Yes I did really want you come, and yes I did ask you. But daddy it wasn't my fault that someone decided to drink and drive that night. IT'S NOT MY FAULT" She cried  
  
"Then why is your mother dead right now." He asked her coldly.  
  
"Because, you were at the wrong place at the wrong time." She said.  
  
"All because you wanted us to come." He snapped.  
  
"NO!! Not all because I wanted you to come. Ya'll decided to come see me that night. It wasn't my idea for you to come to a away game. I figured you would go to a home game, which would have been easier. But I'm not blaming it on you, I blame it on the guy that was drunk that hit you. SO WHY CAN"T YOU!!!!" She snapped.  
  
"Because I don't see it as being his fault. Yes he is the one that killed her, but you are the one that asked us to come." He said again rudely.  
  
"YOU COULD HAVE SAID NO!! I would have understood." She said, "Or you could have gone to a different game. Like a home game maybe."  
  
He didn't say anything to that but just stared at her trying to intimidate her. But her being a goalie it didn't work. She instead stared right back at him for a few minutes.  
  
"Dad, I planned on staying here for a few days after the funeral because I wanted to spend some time with you and Jason. But I'm starting to think that isn't such a good idea. Because all you do is either ignore me or yell at me. I really need you, or thought I needed you, but you know what if you are going to treat me like shit, I have other people that I can lean on for support. So if you don't mind, I'm going to go tell the others to pack and call my coach to see if he can get us a earlier flight." She said starting to leave.  
  
But before she could open the door he reached out and grabbed her arm twirling her around to face him and pushing her up against the wall. She gave out a little cry, but didn't say anything. All she did was stare at her dad with hatred.  
  
"I'm not throw with you yet, Julie." He snapped at her.  
  
"That's funny cause it sure seemed that you were." She said sarcastically.  
  
"Don't get smart with me Julie." He said. "Where were you last night?"  
  
"What do you mean I was right here in the house?" She said confused.  
  
"I went by your room last night and saw that your door was opened and that you weren't in there. So I ask you once again, where were you last night?" He told her.  
  
" I was in Charlie's room." She told him.  
  
"WHY YOU LITTLE SLUT. YOU SLEEPED WITH HIM RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE!!!" He yelled in her face and she cringed cause it had been so loud in her ear.  
  
"No dad I didn't sleep with him, like you are thinking. Charlie wouldn't do that, he respects me to much. I was upset I went to his room. He talked to me and made me fell better and after he made me fell better I didn't want to go back to my room so he let me stay with him and we went to sleep." She told him simply.  
  
"Yea right! I bet I know how he made you feel better. I want you and your friends out of here, tonight!!" He yelled at her, opened the door and pushed her out.  
  
"But dad, I'm telling the truth all he did was hold me and let me cry. I swear!!" She said crying harder as he pushed her out.  
  
"I don't care, you out of here tonight!!" He yelled walked back in his office and slammed the door.  
  
Not realizing that Charlie and Jason were out there she slipped down the wall to the floor, pulling her legs up to her chest and burring her face in her hands and cried.  
  
Charlie looked at Jason and they slowly walked over to her. Jason set down next to her on the floor and pulled her into his lap, while Charlie set on her other side and rubbed her back.  
  
She looked up and saw who was holding her and jumped,  
  
"Jason, I swear we didn't do anything. Please don't be mad at Charlie. I don't think I could take that right now." She said crying.  
  
"SHH!! I know you didn't do anything. Charlie and I were right here the whole time. When you started talking about that he yelled at you Charlie turned to me and told me about the whole time. It's ok, I'm not mad at you or Charlie. I'm just worried about you. He was pretty ruff on you." He said pulling her closer to him and rocking her.  
  
"He wants me to leave Jason. He won't even let me explain to him." She cried, "It's not fair!!"  
  
"Shh. I know, I know. It's going to be ok. I promise." He told her.  
  
"Really?" She said sounding horrible.  
  
"Yes Jules. Speaking as your big brother that always takes care of you, I really promise." He told her sincerely.  
  
She just nodded and reached up and whipped some of her tears off her face.  
  
"Charlie why don't you take her to her room and put her in bed. Then go tell the others to start packing. You might need to pack, you and Julie's stuff. I don't think she is going to feel like it." Jason told Charlie gently handing her to him. "I'm going to go call your coach."  
  
"Ok sounds like a deal to me." He said before standing up and pulling Julie up with him.  
  
He let go of her for a minute so that he could stand up completely and she sunk back down to the floor crying. When he saw her do this he just bent down and gently picked her up and carried her to her room. He pulled back the covers and gently placed her on the bed. He didn't want to leave her just then so he set down on the bed next to her and picked up her hand. She turned her head and looked at him and what he saw broke his heart. She had tears running down her face, and her eyes were all swollen and blood shot. He reached out and whipped some of the tears off her face and gave here a reassuring smile.  
  
"I'll be ok baby, your big brother and I am going to take care of you." He told her gently. "But right now I got to go talk to Connie and Guy. But I promise I will be right back. Ok?" He asked and she nodded slowly.  
  
"Ok, I'll be right back." He said bending down and giving her a gently kiss on her forehead. He got up and covered her up before heading to Connie's room.  
  
However, he found Connie just outside of Julie's room. When he saw her he sighed out of relief because he didn't have to leave Julie for long.  
  
"Oh thank God your here. Listen I need you to go and get Guy and tell him to get his stuff packed and then go and get your stuff packed, because we're leaving today." Charlie told her.  
  
"Why?" Connie asked confused.  
  
"Well I don't want to get into it to much, but Julie and her dad got into a horrible fight and he told her he wanted her to leave." Charlie explained.  
  
"OMG!!! That is horrible. How is she doing?" She asked him worried about her best friend.  
  
"Not real well, what with what she was going through with the funeral and all." Charlie said. "She was miserable before, but now, after the fight and him telling her to leave has made it worst."  
  
"That's horrible. Go back to her Charlie. Guy and I will get packed." Connie said.  
  
"thanks Connie, I am going to get us packed." He told her, "But don't worry I'm not going to leave her long. It'll only take me a few minutes to get my stuff packed and even then I'll be right next door to her."  
  
"I know your not going to leave her long." Connie said.  
  
She then turned away and walked back towards her and Guys rooms to tell Guy that they were leaving and that they needed to pack.  
  
Charlie watched her go before he went back to Julie. He found that she had fallen fast asleep while he was gone. He smiled at the sight glad to see that he was getting some sleep. He bent down and brought the covers over her and kissed her check.  
  
"That's a girl, get some sleep. You haven't gotten much in the past week." He said softly. I'm going to stay with you but I have to get us packed and ready to leave. So I'm going to go to my room and get my stuff ready and then come back and get your stuff packed. But don't worry, I am just going next door I'll be able to hear you if you need me and I wont be that long. I know you don't know what I'm saying since you are asleep, but I wanted to say that anyways."  
  
He watched her for a few minutes before going to his room to pack. It only took him about ten minutes to get his stuff ready. After he got done he brought his bag to Julie's room so that he could get started packing her stuff.  
  
However when he got in there he found Connie, Guy, and Jason in ther and her bag was already ready.  
  
"Hey guys did you get her stuff packed?" He asked pointing to her bag.  
  
"Yea I did, I got in here first and saw that you weren't here and decided that I would help and get her packed while I waited for you guys to get back." Connie told him.  
  
"Thanks Connie." Charlie said and then looked at Julie and smiled seeing that she was still asleep, " She's still asleep"  
  
"Yep." Connie said softly and leaned against Guy.  
  
Charlie walked over to her bed and watched her for a few minutes and then turned to Jason.  
  
" Do did you talk to couch?" He asked him.  
  
"Yea I did, your flight leaves in about two hours. So we need to wake her up and get going so that we can get your tickets and get you to the gate in time." He told them.  
  
Charlie nodded and turned around back to Julie and set down next to her. HE reached ot and touched her face and rubbed her check. She sighed and leaned her head into his hand. He smiled and kept rubbing her check. She slowly stated waking up and whimpered.  
  
"Shh it's ok. But you do need to wake up and get dressed cause we're going home in about two hours. We need to leave in about fifteen minutes so that we can get our tickets and our bags checked in." He told her helping her sit up.  
  
"But I got to get packed, and dressed, that's going to take more that fifteen minutes." She said panicking.  
  
"No you don't sweetie. Connie did that for you" He told her. "All you have to do is go get dressed."  
  
"Oh ok." She said happy that she didn't have to get packed.  
  
She then got up and got the close that she wanted to wear and went to the bathroom to change. Charlie watched her leave and sighed. He was secretly happy taht they were going home today because he thought that it would be better for her to be around her friends. He also wished that she would tell the rest of the team because he knew that they would be able to help her throw this.  
  
He was brought out of his thoughts when she came back into her room and Jason announced that they needed to go.  
  
Julie quickly got her stuff and walked out of the house followed by the rest. It was very obvious that she wasn't unhappy about leaving.  
  
They got into the car and started on their way to the airport. It took them about twenty minutes to get there and parked. About twenty minutes after they got there they were checked in with their tickets and at their Gate.  
  
Since they had a little over an hour left before they started loading Jason asked them if they wanted something to eat. They all nodded and told him what they wanted. Guy decided that he would go with him and help him since that was a lot of food for one person to have to carry by their self.  
  
They came back about fifteen minutes later loaded down with food and drinks. When everyone got their food they set down and ate in silence. About thirty minutes later they announced that they would be starting boarding soon.  
  
Julie was exited about going back, but she was also sad that she had to leave her brother. Jason seeing that his baby sister was went over to her and gave her a hug.  
  
"don't worry about it Julie. You need to get away from dad and the way he is treating you. I think you being away from him will be good for you. You can start healing emotionally from the way he has been treating you and from what you have been through in the past week." He told her.  
  
" I don't know if I can get over mamma's death." She told him.  
  
" I don't expect you to Julie. But I'm talking about the way dad has been treating you." Jason said rubbing her back.  
  
" Oh ok, I knew that. It's probably going to take a while but I have my friends to help me throw it. Well the ones that know about it anyways." She said softly.  
  
"Yes you do." He said, " Charlie told me that you didn't want to tell the rest of the team. I know you have some other good friends, like Portman and Fulton, among others and I am pretty sure that they could help you also. Promise me that you will think about telling them Jules?"  
  
Julie looked at him for a few seconds and then nodded, " Ok Jason, I promise that I will think about telling the rest of the team. But if I don't I'm not telling Averman, his a ass hole."  
  
Jason laughed, "Ok Julie, I can deal with that."  
  
He then hugged her one more time and rubbed her back. Right after he let go of her they announced that they were now boarding. He rubbed her check and smiled at her.  
  
"Well Julie, I guess it's time for you to go and board the plane. Call me when you et home and some time soon I'll come and see you. Ok?" He told her.  
  
She nodded and looked down, " Ok but I'll miss you Jason."  
  
"I know Julie, I'll miss you also. But like I said, I'll come and see you soon. Now go before you miss your plane." He said pulling her head up so he could see her and gave her a encouraging smile. He then gave her one last hug before he gently pushed her towards Charlie and the plane.  
  
When she got back to Charlie she didn't look back she just went straight to the gate and handed the person her ticket, Connie and Guy right behind them. They boarded the plane and found where their seats were and set down. Nothing was said they just set there in silence glad that they were going home.  
  
Soon the plane started taxiing to the runway, and as they were taking off Julie was making a decision that she had wished she had made several days ago.  
  
OK well that is it for now, I hope you enjoyed it and please review if you can, your reviews help me stayed inspired for this story. Thanks and talk to you soon. The next chapter should be the start of the story getting happier.  
  
Oh and one more thing, I may be coming back and doing some more work on this chapter. But I am not sure if I need to. Could you please tell me in your review what you think I should do? Thanks talk to you later. 


	6. Part 6

A/N: I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I was working on one of my other fics and got into a writer's block on it. I hope you enjoy this chapter; it is the next to last chapter of the story. This chapter is going to be short, or I think it is. But it is going to be the start of Julie starting to come back to the Julie we all know and love. I hope you enjoy and please review. To those that have reviewed: thank you.  
  
A Little Note From C-chan96 The Beta: Yo yo yo my peeps! *people stare blankly at the blonde little white girl who is being stupid* ....Heehee...eh...Just thought I'd pop in and say hello. Hello! I'm sorry that there are a few chapters that have yet to be beta-ed. I'm relatively busy with my own stories and other things, and sometimes I can't get around to editing them. So we're pretty sorry about any that have spelling or grammatical errors, but we ask that you try to ignore them if possible. ^_^ We're doing our best here. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and thanks to all those who have reviewed!  
  
*Note to my reviewers*  
  
Astrid the Oh-SO-Mighty: Thank you; I am glad you like it. As for the Beta Reader, I do have one but she isn't always able to check it when I am done. That is why I have A/N's at the bottom of the Chapters telling the readers when she hasn't been able to read it. Thanks for reviewing and please review again.  
  
JennyGirl: I am very glad that you enjoyed the story. But I had no intentions for it to seem that Charlie was treating her like a little girl. In fact, I don't think he was. Think of it like this: Julie just lost her mother, her father is blaming her for it, and he has kicked her out of the house. She needs someone to hold her and give her a little TLC. I hope you see it that way now because I had not intentions for it to seem like he was treating her like a little girl. Well I hope you like this chapter, thank you for reviewing and please review again.  
  
Jo: I am glad that you like my story. But like I said to JennyGirl Julie just lost her mother, her father is blaming it on her, and he kicked her out of the house. I don't think that with those circumstances Julie could pull off her usual tough girl act. As for my spelling, thank you; I know it sucks, it always has. However, if you had read the A/N's at the bottom of each chapter you would know that I have a beta reader and that she doesn't always have time to go over it. So my suggestion to you is read the A/Ns so that you will know whether or not she has read it. I hope you like this chapter, thank you for reviewing, and please review again.  
  
Banksiebabe99: I am glad that you liked the chapter and Julie fighting back to her dad. I think you will find that in this chapter her normal character will be coming back. Thank your for reviewing it means a lot to me. Well, I'll talk to you later, I hope you like this chapter.  
  
C-Chan96: Yes we all know your love for Charlie. It's fine that you didn't get to edit the last chapter, I understand. Julie/Charlie fics are always a good thing. Well, I'll talk to you later.  
  
Okay, now that that is done...on with the chapter. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
-Chapter 7-  
  
When they got to the airport, Jason couldn't go in with them; instead he parked the car and went with them to make sure they got checked in. When they finished checking in, Jason turned to Julie, who was staring at the ground.  
  
"He Shorty, look at me." He said, and she looked up at him with tears streaming down her face.  
  
"I don't want to go home yet. I know I said that I did, but I was just upset." She said softly, "I wanted to spend more time with you."  
  
"Oh Jules." Jason said and pulled her into a hug, "You'll be better off back there than here with dad yelling at you for no reason. You have all your friends there; that can help you through this." He told her.  
  
"They could if they knew." She replied.  
  
"Did you not tell them?" He asked, and she shook her head, "Why not?"  
  
"I didn't want to. We had just won a big game when I found out and I didn't want to spoil it for them." She told him, looking up with her big blue eyes.  
  
"Okay, well I can understand that; but Julie, promise me that you will think about telling them. You need your team right now, and I know that they will not hesitate to help you" He said.  
  
"Okay, I promise." She said.  
  
"Good girl." He said smiling at her, "And I promise that as soon as I can, I will come out and see you. Okay?"  
  
She gave him a weak grin, "Okay."  
  
He pulled her into another hug, and held her for a minute. He then let her go and turned to Charlie, Connie, and Guy, who had walked a few feet away to give them some room.  
  
"Hey guys, take care of my baby sister, ya hear?" He said to them teasingly. They smiled knowing what he was trying to do and nodded.  
  
"Good answer, because I'm coming down some time soon; and if I find out that you haven't taken good care of her, your going to have to deal with me." He finished, and they once again nodded. Jason turned and looked at Julie and grinned, who in turn rolled her eyes.  
  
He laughed and patted her on the head, "There is the reaction I was looking for." He said, which earned him another eye roll.  
  
He laughed once again and walked towards Charlie.  
  
"Hey Charlie, do me a favor and encourage her to tell the rest of the team, will you?" Jason asked him, and he nodded, "But don't bring it up yourself; make her bring it up." He finished. "Yeah, okay. I will." Charlie said. "Thanks man, and just so you know. I was just teasing a few minutes ago about having to deal with me. I know you guys will take care of her. I was just trying to get a normal Julie reaction out of her, which I did." Jason told him.  
  
"I know, I'm glad you did." Charlie said. "I'm worried about her."  
  
"Yeah, I am too; but I think with you three and, if she tells them, the rest of the ducks, she will soon be our tough girl again. I think with her reaction awhile ago, it'll be sooner then we think." He said, grinning a little bit.  
  
"Yeah, I agree." Charlie said, and then looked at his watch, "Well, I think we need to get to the gate."  
  
"Yeah, you do. I'll talk to you later." Jason said and high fived Charlie.  
  
"Yeah." Charlie replied.  
  
Jason turned to Julie and kissed her on the forehead.  
  
"I've got to go, and you guys have to get to your gate." He said, and she nodded.  
  
"Remember what you promised me; that you would think about it."  
  
"I will." She said.  
  
"Good, I'll see you soon." He told her.  
  
"Okay, bye Jassy." She said.  
  
"Bye Shorty," He said; she rolled her eyes once again, and he laughed. He then kissed her on the forehead one more time and headed back to his car.  
  
Julie stood there and watched him go until she couldn't see him anymore. Charlie gave her a few minutes, and then walked up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist.  
  
"Come on Angel; you'll see him again soon." He said in her ear. "We need to get to our gate."  
  
She didn't say anything; she just kept looking in the direction that her brother went and nodded. He led her gently into the airport, with Connie and Guy behind them. About ten minutes later, they were at their gate and sitting in the chairs waiting for their flight to be called.  
  
The whole time they were waiting, Julie sat straight in her chair, staring forward and thinking about what her brother had told her to think about. Charlie set next to her, just watching her. He wanted to ask her if she was okay, but decided that she was probably just thinking to herself. He turned to Connie and Guy who were snuggling together and smiled.  
  
"Hey guys." He said.  
  
"They looked at him and smiled, "Hey Charlie."  
  
"Ready to go home?" He asked them.  
  
"Yeah we are." They both said at the same time.  
  
Charlie smiled, "Yeah, so am I."  
  
They smiled, and he turned back to look at Julie. She was in the same position she had been in a few minutes ago. He sighed; he didn't know what to do. He heard Connie sit up next to him, so he turned and looked at her. She was looking at Julie with a worried look on her face.  
  
"She's going to be okay, Connie." He told her, "With the help of her friends, she is going to be okay."  
  
"I know, but she's not right now. She's confused, and hurting. I can see it in her face." Connie said.  
  
"Yeah, you're right; she is confused and hurting. But I think right now she just might be making a decision; we'll be there to help her out in the long run." Charlie said. Connie looked at him with a confused look on her face, and Charlie laughed. "If I'm right, then you'll find out soon."  
  
"Oh, okay." Connie said still confused.  
  
Guy, who kind of understood what Charlie was talking about, reached over and pulled Connie back towards him.  
  
"Don't worry Cons, Charlie's right. She has some decisions to make." He told her. Before she could respond, the announcement that boarding was starting came over the speakers and they all got up. Well...Charlie, Connie, and Guy did anyway. Julie was still deep in thought. Charlie smiled lovingly at her for a minute, and then bent down in front of her.  
  
"Julie, come on. It's time to get on the plane." He told her gently.  
  
"But they haven't announced it yet." She said, confused as why he was telling her this.  
  
He laughed gently, "Yes they have, Angel; you were so deep in thought that you didn't hear it. Now come on." He told her and stood up and held his hand out to her.  
  
"Okay." She said and grabbed his hand so that he could help her up.  
  
Once she was up, he wrapped an arm around her waist, and they walked to the gate and onto the plane. Once they got onto the plane, they put their carry- on luggage above them and sat down. They buckled their seatbelts and sat, waiting to take off. When they were finally taking to the runway, Julie turned to Charlie and nudged him. He looked at her and smiled.  
  
"What is it Angel?" He asked her.  
  
"Where are Connie and Guy?" She asked him.  
  
"We're back here, Jules." Connie told her before Charlie could.  
  
"Why?" Charlie asked her.  
  
"Because once the plane levels off I want to tell you all about the decision I have made." She told him.  
  
"Okay." He said and then turned to Connie and smiled, and she smiled back.  
  
A few minutes later the plane took off and was beginning to level off. As soon as it did and the seat belt light went off, Julie took her seatbelt off and turned in her seat so that she could see Connie and Guy. She was about to start talking but the flight attendant came and asked them what they wanted to drink. They all told her what they wanted and she gave it to them and left. Julie took a drink of her coke and set it down on the tray, looking down at her hands.  
  
Charlie reached over when he saw her do this and took one of her hands in his. She looked up at him, and he gave her an encouraging smile. That seemed to have made her feel better because she took a deep breath and started to talk.  
  
"I've decided that when we get home, I want to tell the rest of the team about what happened and why we have been gone all week." She told them.  
  
"Julie, that's great." Charlie told her. "I'm glad you decided to tell them."  
  
"Well, I actually decided before we got to the airport, because I have been thinking about it constantly since last night. Then when Jason was talking to me awhile ago, he told me that he thought I would be better off back with them because they could help me. I told him they didn't know, and he made me promise to think about telling them. I told him I would, and that is when I knew I would tell them."  
  
"Is that what you were doing in the waiting room in the airport?" Connie asked, "Thinking?"  
  
"Yeah, but I was thinking about how I was going to tell you guys about wanting to tell the team. And of how I was going to tell the team, and when. That is why I was so out of it." She told them, laughing a little.  
  
Charlie, Connie, and Guy laughed with her, happy to see her on the way to being happy again.  
  
"It's good to see you trying to be happy again, Jules." Charlie told her, and she smiled.  
  
"I can't morn her forever; she wouldn't want me to. It's going to take me a while to get over it, but like I said I know my Momma doesn't want me to be sad forever." She told them softly. "I'm going to try to be my usual self again. There are going to be times that I need her, and I realize I can't go talk to her, and that is going to be hard on me. But with you guys and the rest of the team, I know I'll have someone to go to. I don't want to be one of those people that sink into a deep depression. I want you guys to promise me that if you see me doing that you'll try to get me out of it." She finished.  
  
"Of course we will, right guys?" Charlie told her, and Connie and Guy nodded in agreement.  
  
"Thanks." She said and gave them a true smile.  
  
"So did you decide when you're going to tell the rest of the team?" Connie asked her.  
  
"Yeah, I want to tell them tonight." She said.  
  
"That's good. You can't back out of it now that we know the truth." Charlie said dramatically, and Julie laughed.  
  
Julie leaned against the window and quickly fell asleep. Charlie looked away from Connie and Guy to look at her. He smiled at her curled up form, fast asleep.  
  
"Hey guys, we need to be quiet; Julie's asleep." Charlie told Connie and Guy.  
  
They both nodded in understanding, knowing that she was extremely tired because she hadn't gotten much sleep in the last couple of days. Charlie raised the arm in between the two seats and then reached over and gently pulled her into his arms. She whimpered a little from the movement, but when his strong arms went around her she stopped and cuddled up against his chest. He smiled and laid his head back, falling asleep himself.  
  
About an hour and a half later, Charlie was woken up by the pilot announcing that they would be landing soon. Charlie sighed and looked down at Julie, who was still curled up next to him and fast asleep.  
  
"Well, I guess I should wake her up..." He said softly to himself.  
  
"Julie, wake up baby; we're about to land." He said a little louder.  
  
She just whimpered and cuddled up to him a little more. Charlie laughed and hung his head closer to her ear.  
  
"Julie, you need to wake up; we're about to land." He said once again, but into her ear.  
  
She whimpered again, but opened her eyes and looked up at him, "We are?" She asked.  
  
"Yes, we are; and any minute now the seatbelt light is going to come on." He told her softly. She slapped him softly on the arm lightly and sat up.  
  
She looked around the seat for a minute and found one part of the seatbelt; however, she couldn't find the other end of it. Charlie laughed softly and picked it up and gave it to her.  
  
"Thanks." She said and smiled at him.  
  
"No problem, Angel." He told her.  
  
He then turned to Guy and Connie to make sure they were awake. They were, so he smiled at them and turned back to face the right way.  
  
About twenty minutes later, they were on the ground and at the gate. They got their carry-ons and headed out of the plane. When they got out of the tunnel, they started looking for Bombay. Julie started jumping up and down, trying to find Bombay. Charlie laughed and reached out and held her down by her shoulders.  
  
"Charlie!!!! I'm trying to find Coach." She complained. "Can you see him? You don't have to jump."  
  
He laughed, "Would you like me to describe the crowd to you, or would you like me to get you a box?"  
  
She glared at him, trying to act like she was mad at him but couldn't hold it I; she cracked up laughing.  
  
"Thanks, Charlie; I needed that." She said, trying to stop laughing.  
  
"No prob, Jules." He said patting her on the back, an impish smile on his face.  
  
Just then, Julie saw Bombay walking up and ran to him, hugging him. Charlie smiled and walked over to them, followed by Connie and Guy.  
  
"Hey Coach; I thought Coach Orion was coming too." He said.  
  
"Well, he was; but then the team started asking about you guys." He said letting go of Julie and slapping Charlie on the back.  
  
"He's not going to tell them, is he?" Julie asked him.  
  
"He told me that all he was going to tell them was 'you had a family emergency and you would tell them when you got back.'" Bombay told her, and she let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Good, because I wanted to tell them tonight when I got back." She told him.  
  
"That's good, Jules." Bombay told her. "Why don't we get your luggage and go."  
  
"Okay, but we don't have to rush it." Julie said seriously.  
  
Charlie, Connie, and Guy all laughed at what she said; since she had told them, it was now impossible for her to back out; they wouldn't let her.  
  
"Julie, you're not backing out. Remember what I told you about us not letting you because you had told us? Well we meant it." Charlie said.  
  
Julie looked at him and rolled her eyes. "I wasn't planning on backing out, Charlie. I was just stating that we don't have to hurry." She told him.  
  
He laughed, "Okay, whatever."  
  
She glared at him and walked away towards the luggage pickup, "Jerk."  
  
"I'm not a jerk, I was just teasing." Charlie said to no one in particular and looking pathetic.  
  
"She doesn't need teasing right now Charlie. I know she has her moments when she acts like the Julie we're all used to, but she isn't back 100% yet. Plus, think about what she is about to have to tell the team; she hasn't really talked about it. This is going to be the first time since it happened that she has talked about it." Connie told her 'big brother.'  
  
"I know, Connie. I guess I did go a little overboard." Charlie said, "I didn't mean to. I guess I'm just so used to be able to joke around."  
  
"I know; look, there she is. Go talk to her." Connie told him and nodded towards the luggage pickup.  
  
"Yeah, I will. Thanks Connie." Charlie said and walked over to where Julie was standing, grabbing for her suitcase.  
  
He reached out and grabbed, swung it over the side, and sat it down next to Julie. When he stood up and looked at Julie, she was staring at him with her big blue eyes.  
  
"God, you scared me Charlie." She said when she had calmed down.  
  
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you. I came over here to get the luggage and to tell you I'm sorry for the way I was acting." He said softly and reached out and pushed some hair out of her face.  
  
"You were trying to make me feel better, Charlie. I'm not mad at you. I know you probably don't believe me, because of the way I acted. But I'm not. I'm just nervous about telling the team." She told him.  
  
"It'll be okay, Jules." Charlie said. "You need to tell them so that they can be there for you,; just like Connie, Guy, and I are now."  
  
"I know, and I'm going to. I want them to know; I'm just nervous." She told him. "It's okay, I'd be nervous too." Charlie said.  
  
She smiled and stepped closer to him, hugging him. He smiled and wrapped his arm around her.  
  
Bombay smiled and looked over at Connie and Guy.  
  
"So have they made it official yet?" He asked them.  
  
"Yeah, I think. But the weird thing is that I don't think they have talked about it officially. I think it just happened." Connie said.  
  
Bombay laughed and then quickly got serious. "Well, they haven't had time to talk about it. She's needed him to hold her instead of talk about their relationship." He said.  
  
"Yeah." Connie said.  
  
"Well, the rest of the team is going to be expecting us soon, so we need to get your luggage and go." Bombay told them.  
  
"Okay." Connie and Guy said at the same time.  
  
They then walked up to the pick up and got their suitcases. Bombay walked over to Charlie and Julie.  
  
"He guys, we need to go; they are going to be expecting us." He told them.  
  
"Alright." Charlie said and let go of Julie, but grabbed her hand.  
  
After they had all of their luggage, they walked to Bombay's car and headed back to the school. Thee whole drive was quiet because they were all thinking about what was about to take place. 


	7. Part 7

-Chapter 7-  
  
AN/ I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to get this up. But I got in to a slump, then I got an idea. Then I didn't have time to write it cause I got busy with college work. Anyways I finally got the chance to finish it, excuse me, I got the idea but couldn't put it to words. So I asked Chelsea if she could help me and she did the last section of the story. In other words she wrote the end and I wrote the beginning. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, there is only one chapter left after this. *Sniffs* I can't believe I am almost finished with this story. Anyways enjoy and review if you can.  
  
Note to my reviewers:  
  
C-chan96: I'm glad you enjoyed this story. I knew you would, you always do. Don't worry about not being able to think of any Charlie/Julie parts for me. You made it up plenty in this one. Your official thank you will be after the chapter is done. I'm just responding to your review now. Anyways I had a great time at Tyler, I hope I can go again soon. Well I'm talking to you on IM and have other reviews to respond to plus your An. Talk to you soon.  
  
Banksiesbabe99: I'm glad you liked the chapter. Thanks for reviewing, enjoy this one.  
  
Ok responses are finished, here is the next to last chapter. Enjoy and please review.  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Bombay pulled into the parking lot of the dorms and turned the car off. He then turned and looked at Julie.  
  
"You ready, Julie?" he asked her.  
  
"No, but I made a promise to Charlie, Connie, Guy and Jason; and I'm not going to break it." She said and smiled at Bombay and her friends.  
  
Bombay smiled reassuringly at her. "Okay then; let's go. We'll go in and let them know we're back, and then you guy's can go and put your bags up. Afterwards, we'll all come back and talk to them." He told them.  
  
"Okay." They all said.  
  
Bombay smiled, and they all got out of the car and got their bags. After they retrieved their things, they walked into the dorm building and to the entertainment room; there they saw the rest of the team playing games while they waited for their teammates to get back.  
  
Bombay cleared his throat when they go into the room so that he could get their attention.  
  
"Hey team, we're back." He said.  
  
They all cheered and clapped, none of them noticing the uncomfortable look on their goalie's face. Well none of them except Charlie and Portman.  
  
Portman looked over at Charlie to see if it would be okay to say something to her. Charlie mouthed to him to greet her in some way. Portman nodded and walked over to Julie.  
  
"Hey Jules. I'm glad your back. I've been worried about you." He told her gently.  
  
Julie gave him a weak smile, "Thanks Portman. I'm glad to be home too. No one to yell at me here."  
  
Portman gave her a confused look. She looked down, because she didn't know what to do. Portman was one of her best friends; for all practical purposes he was another brother to her.  
  
Charlie saw what was happening and walked up next to them. "Hey Julie, Connie is going to put her stuff up. Why don't you go with her?" He told her.  
  
"Okay," she said.  
  
She gave Portman one of her famous grins; both Charlie and Portman knew it was a put-on, seeing right through it. She turned around and picked up her bag and went to find Connie. Charlie watched her walk away. Just as she walked out of the room, something dawned on him. She wanted Portman to know first, before the rest of the team.  
  
'Probably because he is almost a brother to her,' he thought to himself. He knew now why she had just looked upset, 'She couldn't decide whether to tell him or wait and tell him with the rest.' Charlie then turned to Portman, who was now talking to Guy, "Hey Portman, I'll be right back." He told him.  
  
"Okay." Portman said.  
  
Charlie then turned around and went after Julie. He caught up to her pretty quickly because she was walking pretty slowly.  
  
"Hey Jules!!" He called out to her.  
  
She turned around and looked at him, "Yeah?"  
  
"I have a question for you." He said.  
  
"Okay." She answered.  
  
"Do you want me to tell Portman?" He asked her.  
  
"Kind of." She said.  
  
"Okay." He said.  
  
She smiled at him and then looked down at the floor. Charlie reached out and pulled her into a tight hug.  
  
"What's the matter, Angel?" He asked her softly.  
  
"I don't know if I can tell them." She said against his chest.  
  
"Shh, if you want, I'll help you tell them. Okay?" He said.  
  
"Really?" She asked looking up at him, "Why?"  
  
"Because, Julie, I care for you and want to help you through this." He told her gently.  
  
She smiled at him and laid her head back on his chest. He smiled and held her for a little bit longer.  
  
After a couple minutes, he pulled back and kissed her forehead.  
  
"Go on to your room with Connie; I'm going to talk to Portman. We'll come get you in a little bit. Okay?" he told her, pushing a stray piece of hair out of her face.  
  
She nodded and gave him a weak, nervous smile.  
  
"Don't worry; I'll help you through it, okay?" He told her, and she nodded.  
  
"Okay; go lie down and relax for a little bit. You deserve it." He told her.  
  
"Okay." She said softly.  
  
He bent down and gave her a kiss, "I love you Julie. I really do, and you don't know how happy I am that you're letting me be here for you. I don't know what I would do if you didn't," He told her and she nodded.  
  
She looked up at him as he brushed a strand of hair from her face gently.  
  
"I love you too..." She said softly, smiling at him lovingly and looking down at the floor once again.  
  
"I know Jules; and I swear I'll be here for you; to hold you, or to let you cry on my shoulder. As well a certain Bash Brother, I think," he said, giving her a teasing smile.  
  
Her eyes got huge, "Charlie, he's like a big brother to me that is all. I swear!" She said panicking a little.  
  
"Jules, I know that. I know." He said pulling her into a hug, "I was just teasing you; trying to get some of the old Julie back, and it worked," he said.  
  
She giggled against his chest, "Remind me to beat the crap out of you for that after I tell the team." She said, and he laughed.  
  
"I'll try." he said laughing, "Hey, listen; I swear I will, as well as the rest I am sure, be here for you to talk to when you need me to. Okay?"  
  
"That's what I need right now; some one to hold me... and to joke around with me." She said, smiling at him.  
  
"We can leave that up to Averman." Charlie said seriously.  
  
"Charlie, I swear to God; you bring him anywhere close to me and I will kill him, or hurt him severely. You know that we don't get along. He drives me up the wall." She said.  
  
Charlie was severely trying not to laugh, "You done with your rampage now, Jules?"  
  
"Yes." She said.  
  
"Can I tell you a secret?" He asked her, still controlling his laughter.  
  
"Yes." She said cocking her eyebrow.  
  
"I was playing with you again." He said, busting out laughing.  
  
"WHY YOU!!!!!!!" She screamed and started hitting him, which made him laugh harder.  
  
"Calm down, Jules; I'm not going to make you deal with Averman, I swear." He said calming down, as was she.  
  
"Good." She said, "But I do feel more like myself. You should piss me off on purpose more often."  
  
He laughed, "I'll remember that."  
  
He then reached out and caressed her face. "Go lay down, Jules; Portman and I will come get you in a little while."  
  
"Okay." She said.  
  
He turned around and walked back to the entertainment room to get Portman and his bag so he go to his room. Julie sighed and walked the rest of the way to her room.  
  
She opened the door and found that Connie wasn't in there yet. She didn't care; she just sat her bag down and sat down on her bed. She looked over on her night stand and saw the picture of her mother. She reached over and picked it up.  
  
"Why did this happen when I need you the most?" She asked the picture and broke down in tears, lying down in a fetal position. "I know that the team and Jason will help me through it, but I shouldn't have to be going through this. Maybe daddy was right about this being my fault."  
  
Connie walked in just in time to hear her best friend say this and to find her curled up in a ball, hugging her mother's picture. She walked over to Julie's bed and sat down.  
  
"Jules, don't say that. That is what your dad wants you to believe. If you admit that you think he is right, than he has won. But its not true, Julie; it wasn't your fault. It wasn't his fault. It was the drunk that hit them. One other thing, your mother wouldn't want you to think that, would she? No, of course not. She would want you to go on with your life, mourn of course, but not blame your self. Okay?" Connie said looking at Julie.  
  
"I know; it's just hard. But I'll try not to start thinking that again. I promise." Julie said.  
  
"Good. Because if I hear you say that again, I'm going to tell Charlie." She said and Julie laughed.  
  
"Connie?" Julie said after she stopped laughing.  
  
"Yeah?" Connie replied.  
  
"Thanks. For keeping your promise about if you saw me going down in a depression that you would get me out of it, or try." Julie said and gave Connie a big smile.  
  
"No problem, Jules." Connie said.  
  
"I don't understand it. Ten minutes ago I was feeling like my old self; Charlie had me laughing and screaming at him, like before everything. Then I came in here and laid down because I promised him I would. Because he knows I'm tired, and I saw this picture and it all hit me again." Julie said, looking down at the bed.  
  
"Julie, that's normal. I know it isn't the same, but when my grandmother died, I went through the same thing you are. I would be happy and laughing one minute with Guy, and then the next I would be balling. It's normal, I promise. Guy and the Ducks helped me through that, and we will help you through this." Connie said.  
  
"Really? You went through this?" Julie asked.  
  
"Yep. I know it isn't the same as a mother, but my grandmother and I were very close." Connie said, smiling at her.  
  
"Thanks Connie. That makes me feel better." Julie said.  
  
"No prob." Connie said, "Now get some rest so that Charlie doesn't get on to me for not making you."  
  
Julie laughed, "Okay."  
  
Connie smiled and got up, going to her bed to lay down. Julie stretched out and got under the blankets. She then thought of something and sat up.  
  
"Connie?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah?" Connie answered with her eyes closed.  
  
"When did your grandmother die? When we met she was still alive." Julie asked her.  
  
"Right after the Junior Goodwill Games. We had just gotten back home when it happened. Actually, I guess it was after you went home because you had come home with us. Anyway, it was when you were back in Maine." She answered.  
  
"Oh, okay. I think you told me; I just don't remember. That sounded bad. It's just so much has happened since then." She said, panicking that Connie would be mad at her for saying that.  
  
"Julie, it's okay. Now get some rest before we go talk to the team." Connie said, smiling reassuringly at her.  
  
"Okay." Julie said and rolled over, going to sleep.  
  
About forty-five minutes later, Charlie and Portman came to Connie and Julie's room. Charlie knocked on the door, not really expecting to get and answer. When he didn't, he looked at Portman and smiled. He then slowly opened the door and walked in. Portman stood where he was standing, staring at Charlie like he was insane.  
  
"Portman, come on; she is going to be expecting you to be with me." Charlie whispered to him.  
  
"But they're asleep. Didn't you say that Julie needs to get some rest?" Portman asked him.  
  
"Yes I did, and she does; but I told her to go and lay down and that we would come get her and Connie when it was time to go back to the team." Charlie explained to him.  
  
"Oh, okay." Portman said, and Charlie laughed.  
  
They walked the rest of the way into the room. When Charlie saw Julie curled up in a ball and fast asleep, he just almost changed his mind about waking her up.  
  
"Charlie? Shouldn't we wake them up now?" Portman asked after a few minutes.  
  
Charlie jumped a few feet in the air and then nodded, "Yeah."  
  
He then looked over at Portman and smiled, "Why don't you wake her up?" he suggested.  
  
Portman smiled, happy that Charlie trusted her with him, "Okay," He said and started walking towards Julie; he then thought of something and stopped, "You're not setting me up are you? She isn't going to hit me over the head with something, is she?" He asked Charlie.  
  
Charlie laughed, "No, I'm not setting you up. I promise." He said.  
  
"Okay." Portman said skeptically and walked the rest of the way to Julie's bed while Charlie went to Connie's.  
  
Portman sat down on the bed next to Julie and watched her sleep for a couple seconds. He then reached out and stroked her cheek.  
  
"Julie." He said gently, "Julie, wake up." She didn't make a move to wake up; instead she moved her head into his hand and smiled. Charlie already had Connie awake, and they were both watching and laughing. Portman looked over at him and saw Connie watching.  
  
"How in the hell did you do that?" Portman asked.  
  
"I just shook her gently and told her that she needed to wake up." Charlie said.  
  
"I did that!!!" Portman exclaimed.  
  
Charlie laughed again, "Yes you did, but there is something you should know about Julie. She loves for her face to be rubbed." He said, smiling.  
  
"Oh, so that is why she smiled." Portman said, "Okay, now to try this again."  
  
He leaned down so that he was a little closer to her, "Julie, wake up."  
  
She groaned and opened her eyes, "Portman?" she asked.  
  
"Yep. Came to get you so you can go talk to the rest of the team." He said to her.  
  
"Oh, you know, right?" She asked him, and he nodded. "Okay, good. You're not mad at me, are you?"  
  
"Why would I be made at you, Jules?" He asked her.  
  
"Because I told Connie and Guy about it but didn't tell you. You're one of my best friends; you're like a brother." She said, looking down at the cover.  
  
"Julie, you had your reasons. I understand that. Charlie told me that you didn't want to ruin the win, and I understand your decision. So no, Julie, I'm not mad. Besides, you wanted me to know before the rest, so it's all cool." Portman said, smiling at her.  
  
She didn't say anything; she just leaned over and hugged him. After a few minutes, she pulled back and looked at him.  
  
"I told myself that when I got back, I would tell you because I wanted you to know. But when you came up to me, I couldn't do it. Charlie asked me if I wanted you to know. I nodded and he told me that he would tell you. That's why he told you." She told him, feeling like she needed to tell him.  
  
"I know, he told me that to." Portman said smiling.  
  
She smiled back, "Oh, okay." She said and then looked around the room for him and Connie. "Where is he?"  
  
"Who?" Portman asked.  
  
"Charlie." She said.  
  
Portman looked over at Connie's bed, and then the door. He smiled when he saw the door was open.  
  
"Hey Charlie, you better get back in here. Julie is trying to get me to make out with her." He yelled, and Julie snickered.  
  
"Very funny, DEAN!" Charlie said sarcastically, and Julie laughed out loud at the look on Portman's face.  
  
She then got up and jumped into Charlie's arms, hugging him. He stuck his tongue out at Portman and hugged her back. Portman smiled and then stuck his tongue back at him. Julie rolled her eyes, having seen the whole thing in the mirror in front of her, and pulled away from Charlie and looked up at him.  
  
"Real mature, guys." She said to both of them, earning impish grins from both.  
  
When they were all done being goofy, she looked up at Charlie, smiling.  
  
"Thanks for telling him, Charlie." She told him.  
  
"No problem, Angel." He told her and kissed her on the nose.  
  
She smiled up at him and just enjoyed having him with her. She wouldn't trade him for anything. Not even a new-and-improved Charlie model that never got mad; that just simply wouldn't be her Charlie.  
  
"Come on, let's get this over with." She told them, and then led them out the door.  
  
Charlie and Portman smiled and followed her out of the room. When they got to the entertainment room, Julie stopped at the door. Charlie walked up beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer.  
  
He bent towards her a little, "It's going to be okay, Julie. Remember I'll help you out, and I'm sure Connie and Guy will too, if you want. If not, we're here to support you through it, as well as Portman." He told her.  
  
"I know, I guess I'm just a little nervous." She told him. "But thanks for telling me anyway..."  
  
"No problem, Julie." He told her, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.  
  
She leaned up against a wall and closed her eyes, breathing deeply to prepare herself. She could do this...She had Charlie and everyone else to help her...She wasn't alone. After a moment, she turned to Charlie and gave him a half-smile.  
  
"Okay, I'm ready." She said and walked into the room.  
  
When the team saw them walk into the room, they stopped what they were doing and looked at them. Julie smiled and looked over at Bombay.  
  
Bombay nodded and cleared his throat, causing them to look at him.  
  
"Listen team, Julie is about to tell you something, and I want you to give her your full attention." He told them, and they all nodded in response.  
  
After Bombay had told the team to pay attention to Julie, they turned back to her. She looked at them for a minute, and then looked down at the floor; she then looked back up at them.  
  
She was about to start talking when her 'favorite' person interrupted her.  
  
"Hey Cat Lady, when you going to start talking?" Averman asked her.  
  
She growled in frustration and turned to him, "I was about to, dimwit!" she snapped.  
  
"Well then get to it, Blondie." He said sarcastically.  
  
"Stop pressuring me!!!" She yelled at him "Averman, what I'm about to tell you guys isn't going to be the easiest, so I would appreciate it if you would SHUT UP!!" She told him.  
  
"Or what?" He asked her feeling very brave.  
  
She growled, "Or I'm going to hit you over the head with a hockey stick."  
  
"How you going to do that?" he asked her, "You don't have one in here."  
  
She glared at him, turned around and walked over to Charlie and Portman.  
  
"I'm sorry boys, but could either of you get me a stick, please?" She asked them sweetly.  
  
They looked at each other and smirked at the way she asked them.  
  
"Sure Jules, I even have a metal one." Portman said smiling.  
  
She grinned, "Even better."  
  
Portman grinned and looked over at Averman, who was starting to look nervous. He looked back at Julie and winked before turning and walking out of the room.  
  
"One, two, three...." He counted. "WAIT!!!" Averman screamed, "Okay, I'll shut up."  
  
Portman grinned and walked back in. Julie was facing Averman again and glaring at him.  
  
"Thank you." She said and then smiled.  
  
Portman laughed and leaned over to Charlie, "Now that is the Julie that I know and love." He said to him, "As a sister."  
  
Charlie laughed, "I know what you meant Portman, and you're right; the old Julie is coming back. She just needed to be home."  
  
Julie had heard what they had said and turned to them and smiled. They both smiled back at her and Charlie reached out and grabbed her hand. She smiled again, turned to the rest of the team and took a deep breath.  
  
"Ok guys, I'm sure your all wondering where I've been the last couple of days." She said softly and they all nodded.  
  
She inhaled deeply, and let out a shuddered breath, swallowing the lump in her throat. She could feel tension building as she closed her eyes, trying to keep the tears pooling in her eyes at bay. She wouldn't cry. She couldn't...  
  
After she had taken a few moments to breathe, she looked back up at her friends surrounding her. She could do this.  
  
"It all started...it all started when I begged my parents to come see one of our games. I was dying for them to come see us; I wanted them to know that I was making something of myself. Once I had finally convinced them to come, I was ecstatic...then..." she started, letting out another shaky breath before continuing. "Then the game came, and they weren't there. I searched and searched, but they weren't there," she said, feeling her nose burning with the threat of tears; but she held it in. "I asked Charlie to tell Orion...wh-when he told Bombay, Bombay called to find out what was going on. During the second period, I found out they had been in a bad car accident; a drunk had hit them," She said, feeling Charlie's grip tightened on her hand. He was telling her he was there; he was being her rock. "After the game, I found out that my dad had been stabilized, but momma..." she started. "Momma's lungs collapsed, and..." she started, feeling the hot tears pool in her eyes. "...and she died." She added quietly.  
  
After a few seconds of silence, Fulton spoke up with sympathy. "Why didn't you tell us?" he asked quietly.  
  
"I didn't want to ruin the win..." she said quietly, finally regaining the capability to speak with choking again. Before they could say anything else, she continued. "After the game...we went to the hospital. I just wanted to see daddy...and to find out if it was really true...My big brother Jason was there, and I thought things might be okay. When I went to talk to daddy, he told me to go; he said there was no reason for me to come because he and Jason were leaving as soon as he was let out. He didn't want me to come with him...Momma's funeral was the 'family emergency'...When daddy yelled at me to leave, I went to see my mom..." she said, her face scrunching as she felt a sob escape. The room was deathly quiet, and Charlie rubbed her palm with his thumb.  
  
She crumbled to the floor slightly, trying to stop the flow of tears. She could hardly stop her chest from sporadically twitching with her crying.  
  
Julie felt Charlie kneel next to her and wrap and arm around her shoulder. "Are you okay, or do you want me to finish?" he asked once she had calmed down a little.  
  
"I-I can't..." she said after a minute, allowing herself to lean against Charlie; she felt protected. Charlie nodded. "It's okay, Jules."  
  
"I just feel like such a wimp..." she said, her eyes glistening.  
  
Pursing his lips, he wrapped his arms around her and let out a sigh. "You aren't a wimp, Julie. It's a tough thing, and I said I would be here for you..." he said softly.  
  
Only a few seconds later he turned back to the Ducks sadly and finished the explanation, telling them how cold her father had been. How for the longest time, he wouldn't even see her.  
  
When Charlie had finished, the Ducks stood in a shocked, chilled silence. It seemed everyone was afraid to speak, for fear of shattering the very air they breathed.  
  
Suddenly, Fulton broke from the crowd over to Julie and Charlie, pulling the former into a hug. "I think I speak for all of us when I say I'm sorry and that me and the rest of the team anytime you need us," he said quietly, earning a tearful nod from Julie.  
  
"Thanks, Fult." She said with a light smile.  
  
"Is there anything we could do?" Futon asked, releasing Julie so she could relocate herself back with Charlie.  
  
Intertwining her fingers with Charlie's she nodded. "I want to go skating."  
  
Soon enough, they were skating around the ice rink. Julie couldn't help but smile as she saw her friends whip around her, sliding across the ice in child-like glee; carrying out the antics of youth. Charlie skated up behind her and turned so he was in front of her. "Weren't you supposed to beat me up, or something of that nature?" he asked playfully, remembering her earlier threat of beating him up after telling the team.  
  
"Why would I do that?" she asked as he wrapped her arms around her waist and she leaned forward, resting her forehead on his chest.  
  
He shrugged and gave her a crooked smile. "There's just no telling, Angel. But there's something I have to tell you..." he said softly as she looked up at him with question. After waiting for a few dramatic minutes, he tagged her shoulder and grinned impishly. "YOU'RE IT!"  
  
After he had skated off, she blinked with realization. Once it had connected in her brain, she was after him like a cat on a mouse.  
  
"You are SO paying for that!" she called after him, laughter mingling with the rest of the ruckus. "Can you not handle being mature for TWO SECONDS?!"  
  
He flipped around and began skating backwards, watching her trail him, shaking his head with a grin.  
  
Tripping over a stray hockey stick, Julie plummeted to the cold, icy surface.  
  
Charlie instantly came to an abrupt stop and skated over to her. "Julie? You okay?"  
  
She nodded and gave him a half-smile. "I'll live."  
  
He sat down on the ice next to her and she grinned.  
  
Cupping the side of her face with his hand, he gave her a gentle kiss before pulling away and smiling.  
  
Julie smiled blissfully at him, just happy that she had her Charlie. She finally had that someone. She had someone to love her, and to catch her when she fell.  
  
She had Charlie, and as long as she did, she was the happiest person alive.  
  
Ok well that is it for this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and tell me what you think. The next chapter is going to be a lot happier, it is also going to be the last chapter. Well talk to you soon.  
  
A/N to C-chan96: THANK YOU SO BLOODY MUCH FOR HELPING ME OUT. It if hadn't been for you it probably would have been like another week tell I posted. I knew what i wanted to happen, I just couldn't figure out how to put type it. Not only did you finish if for me but you also edited and re did that one section. YOUR GREAT!!!!!! *Gives you a cream soda* I feel bad that I ask you to do so much and yet all I do for you is read yours, tell you my favorite parts, and occasionally tell you the mistakes i see. How horrible is that? SO if there is ever a part you need help writing in any of your fics, tell me and I'll try to help you. Or if you want me to help you rewrite a part, ask me and I will try. I swear. You help me I want to help you a little more. It just doesn't seem fair. Well that is all i can think of, and I promised to review your chapter twice, so I'm going to post this and follow up on my part of the deal. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! 


	8. Epilogue Part 1

Chapter 8  
  
Epilogue  
Part 1  
  
Ok people, here is the last chapter for this story. I can't believe it is already finished. It doesn't seem like it should be done. But I have other stories that I can work on. This chapter is going to be a lot happier that the rest of the story. I hope you enjoy, and please review after you read.  
  
*Responses to Reviews*  
  
C-Chan: I'm glad you are back to being happy with ff.net now. It is a great thing that you are back from being pissed. It means you can post your chapters, and I can send you my chapters to edit. I'm glad you had so much fun in NY and like Phantom. That means when I get the soundtrack for my car we can go around driving and singing to it. J I have the thing memorized. The sad thing is that now that I am going to this class on Sundays, if we spend the night together it is going to have to be on Fridays. Or we well just have to come over in the morning on Saturdays and spend the whole day together. Anyways, we can figure that out later, can you believe that this is the last chapter? *sighs* Oh well. I have other things to write on. Anyways, I guess I'll go on and start the chapter. Thanks for reviewing, TWICE. Enjoy the chapter.  
  
Okay now that my one reviewer has been responded to, I'll start the chapter. I know that you guys are probably busy, I understand, but please review and tell me what you think about this. I really would like some reviews because this is the end of this story and I want to know what y'all thought about it. Enjoy, and talk to you soon.  
  
As the weeks came and went, Julie had good and bad days, but was never alone. Charlie or one of the other Ducks was always with her. Anytime she needed them, they would be there; and when she wanted to be alone, they would nod and respect her wishes.  
  
She was having a little trouble with her schoolwork as well; especially when she first got back home. She would be doing it, but then she would start to think about her mom and space off. She would end up falling asleep and not getting it done. She didn't tell anyone about if for a couple weeks because she didn't want them to worry about her any more than they already were.  
  
However, after a couple weeks, Charlie found out from one of her friends and asked her about it. She told him the truth. She told him that she hadn't wanted them to know because she didn't want them to fall back either. He told her that there was no reason for her to fall back, because the team always did there homework together; that they could help each other, and that they had been wanting her to come with them. She agreed, and he smiled, reminding her when it usually started.  
  
They had been getting closer and closer through the weeks after her mom died. There were several nights that Connie had run to his room to get him because Julie had had a nightmare about her mom and had been asking for him. They had talked about their relationship in more detail and had decided to go ahead and make it official, yet they were going to take the relationship slowly. The Ducks had noticed that she seemed happier after they talked about it; happier then she had been since the accident, and possible since before the accident.  
  
Along with her doing better, solving her problems in school, and her and Charlie deciding to get together, she and the Ducks had made it to the playoffs. In fact, they had made if through the playoffs and were currently getting ready to go to the Championship. The whole team was extremely excited about it and nervous, and Julie was no exemption to that.  
  
When she first came back, Coach Orion had told her that if she didn't want to play in the next game that he understood. She immediately told him that she was not going to miss a game, and that her mother wouldn't want that to happen. He had simply nodded and walked off. She had been playing ever since, with no hesitation.  
  
When they had won the last playoff game that would send them to the championship, she had been ecstatic. As the game approached, the team got more and more excited and nervous, especially for Julie. It was becoming harder for her because it was hitting her that the one thing, besides her and Charlie getting together, that her mother wanted was to see her lead her team once again to the championships. In fact, it occupied her mind even as she sat in the locker room after practice, the day before the game.  
  
Julie was sitting at her locker, still in her gear, staring off into space. Portman walked in, dressed in normal cloths and looked at her.  
  
"Hey Julie, you okay?" he asked, sitting down next to her. When he didn't get a response, he waved his hand in front of her face.  
  
"Julie, oh Julie?" he said, "You in there?"  
  
When he still didn't get a response, he sighed and looked around for a minute. When he saw Charlie looking for his shirt, he got an evil idea; but he knew that it would work.  
  
"Hey Julie...Charlie lost his clothes and is walking around the locker room naked. Do you know where his cloths are?" he asked as seriously as he could.  
  
That worked.  
  
She looked at him with her eyes huge, "WHAT?" She then looked over at Charlie and saw that he was staring at Portman with a "Go To Hell" look, and that he was dressed except for his shirt. "He isn't naked; he just doesn't have a shirt on."  
  
Portman cracked up laughing and clutched his stomach. "I'm sorry, Julie. It's just that you were off in your on little world and that was the only way I could get you out of it. But it was definitely worth it. You should have seen the look on your face! Priceless!"  
  
She grinned, "Yeah, you probably enjoyed that. But from the look you're getting from Charlie, I think you should run," she said and stood up, grabbing her clothes and walking towards the showers.  
  
Later that day the ducks were hanging out in the entertainment room of their dorms and goofing off with each other. Julie and Connie were sitting on the couch talking and watching the guys act stupid. A couple hours later, at around ten, coach Orian walked in the room and told them to set down.  
  
"Ok team, we have a big day tomorrow, so don't stay up to much longer. I'm going to let you sleep in a couple hours than normal, but that doesn't mean you can stay up all night. You need your sleep. You can stay up for another hour, but not much longer. When you get up tomorrow we are going to have a light practice, come back here get are stuff ready and get on the buss. The ride well be about two or three hours long, which will be a good time to rest and relax. I'll tell you a little more about the plans after we get there on the buss. Don't stay up much longer, and I'll see you tomorrow." He told them smiled and waved at them and then turned around and left.  
  
The team all said good bye to him and waved and most of them got back to what they had been doing before Orian had come. Connie had decided to go talk to Guy leaving Julie to sit on the couch by herself. But she didn't mind cause she was thinking about the game tomorrow. She was so intent on thinking about the game that she didn't realize that Charlie had come up and set down next to her, until he spoke.  
  
"Hey Julie, you okay?" He asked her.  
  
"WHA?" She jumped, and looked at him with large eyes, "Oh hey Charlie, what did you say?"  
  
He laughed, "Good to see you to Julie," He said sarcastically but good naturally, "I asked if you are ok?"  
  
"Sorry Charlie, I just didn't know you were there and you scared me that's all." She said, feeling bad about the way she greeted him, "and yea I'm ok, just thinking about the game tomorrow."  
  
Charlie nodded his head in understandment and wrapped an arm around her. "You nervous?"  
  
"Yea, I'm kindof depressed to." She said softly.  
  
"Why?" He asked gently.  
  
"Because the one thing my mother wanted, besides to see us together, was to get to see me play in another championship. I realized a couple days ago, that she isn't going to see me in the game." She said looking down at her hands.  
  
He gave her a sympathetic look and pulled her closer to him. She laid her head on his shoulder, but she didn't cry. She didn't want to cry, not then, she just wanted to be held by Charlie. He held her kissing her head every once in a while and rubbing her arm with his hand.  
  
After a while Charlie pushed her back a little bit and looked into her eyes. "Think about it this way Jules, she may not be here to see it in life, but she is watching you up there. So she well be with you throughout the whole game tomorrow." He told her.  
  
She looked at him for a second thinking about what he had just said and gave him a weak smile. "Your right, she may not be here in life, but she is watching me up there, and is here with me in my heart."  
  
"You think you'll be ok thinking about it like that?" He asked her reaching up and brushing some of her hair out of her face.  
  
"Yea, I think so. I mean I still wish she was here, but I know that she isn't, and I have to come to terms with the fact that she isn't alive anymore and isn't going to be here for me when I need to talk to her. But thinking about it like that, that she is with me in my heart, makes it a little better." She said.  
  
He smiled at her, "That's my girl." He said and pulled her into a hug. She hugged him back and cuddled into his chest.  
  
He smiled and pulled her into his lap and held her for a little while. A few minutes later, he felt Julie yawn against his chest. He pulled her back once again and looked at her.  
  
"You tired baby?" He asked her softly.  
  
"No." She said.  
  
"Julie" Charlie said a little sternly.,  
  
"Yea, a little." She said.  
  
"That's what I thought." He said smiling at her. "Why don't you go on and go to bed?"  
  
"No, I don't want to." She said stubbornly.  
  
"Julie." He said once again and gave her a warning look. "You need to go and try get some sleep. I know how you are before big games, you get stressed out the day before and cant sleep. If you go now maybe you can get a little sleep." He told her.  
  
She whimpered but knew that he was right. "Ok."  
  
"That's a girl. And don't worry about it, we're all going to be going soon anyways." He told her.  
  
"Ok." She said, but didn't bother to get up.  
  
"Julie, are you going to go to bed?" He asked her cocking his eyebrow at her.  
  
"Why now? You just said that the rest of you would be going soon, so I thought that I would wait." She said.  
  
"Julie, your tired, you need to go to bed." He told her.  
  
"But I don't want to, I want to wait tell you are Connie goes, so that I have someone to walk with." She wined.  
  
Charlie sighed, she was working him and he knew it.  
  
"Ok I'm tired anyways. Lets go say goodbye to the team and go on, I'll walk with you." He said.  
  
She grinned, "Ok."  
  
They got up and walked over to the team. "Hey guys Julie is going to go to bed, and I'm going to walk her to her room and then go myself."  
  
"Ok, we're all going pretty soon to." Adam said.  
  
Charlie nodded, "Ok see you tomorrow."  
  
"Night." They all said.  
  
"Charlie and Julie sitting in a tree k i s s i n g. First comes love, than comes marriage, than comes Charlie with a...."Averman started singing but was interrupted when Julie walked over to him and knocked him on the floor. She then bent down and looked him straight in the eyes.  
  
"If you even think about finishing that, or think about singing that again, about anyone, you will not get a chance to come with a baby carriage. Is that clear?" She informed him.  
  
His eyes got huge and he started nodding, "Yes Julie that is perrrrfictly clear."  
  
She growled and slapped him upside his head. "You just couldn't resist yourself could you? But I'm glad that you understand." she said standing up and walking out the room.  
  
Charlie laughed along with the rest of the team, waved and walked out the door. He cought up with Julie who still seemed to be pissed off and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.  
  
"That was good Julie." He said smiling at her.  
  
"Thanks. I hate that song, always have. It just gets on my nerves." She said.  
  
"Yea, it is obnoxious, but then again so is Averman." He said and Julie cracked up laughing.  
  
They walked the rest of the way in happy silence and their arms around each other. When they got to her room he bent down and kissed her softly on the check. (remember their taking it slowly.)  
  
"Get some sleep Angel and try not to stress out to much, so that you can get some sleep ok?" He told her.  
  
"I'll try." She said smiling at him.  
  
"Ok, if you need me call me ok?" He asked.  
  
"Ok." She said and stepped forward and hugged him  
  
He hugged her back for a couple minutes and then pulled back and once again kissed her.  
  
"Night Angel." He said.  
  
"Night Teddy." She said smiling, happy that she had a nickname for him now.  
  
She walked into his room and he went on to his, to get ready and go to bed.  
  
The next day at around nine o'clock in the morning, Julie woke up to Connie calling her name. She set up and looked around, trying to wake up. finally she was able to see straight and she got up and went to the bathroom.  
  
"Connie?" She called when she came back into the room.  
  
"Yea?" Connie answered poking her head out of her closet.  
  
"What time do we have practice?" Julie asked.  
  
"Um 10. But it isn't really going to be a practice, we're just going to skate around a little bit." Connie told her, "Why?"  
  
"Just wondering." She said  
  
She then started getting ready, packing her bag for the game and getting her equipment bag ready. After that she got dressed in some sweats and put her hair in the normal two braids that everyone was use to her wearing. By the time she got done it was time for them to go meet the rest of the ducks and go to practice.  
  
They both grabbed their bags and walked out the door, hey walked out of the dorm building and towards the skating rink where they meet up with the guys. Connie went to Guy and Julie went to Charlie. "Hey you." Charlie said hugging her, "How'd you sleep? Did you get any sleep?" he aske her worriedly.  
  
"Yea, I actually did. I have a feeling that may come back and bite me in the butt. Because usually when I don't stress out about it the day before, its worse the day of." She told him.  
  
"Well at least you go some sleep, right?" He told her and she nodded. "as for stressing out, you'll be among the best of us."  
  
She giggled and hugged him again, "Thanks Charlie."  
  
"No problem Angel." He said smiling at her. He then noticed something about her hair.  
  
"Hey! Your wearing your traditional Cat lady braids." He said.  
  
"Yea, I was sick of wearing it in ponytails all the time and having to redo them every two hours. Besides its more convertible under the helmet." She said and then got a far off look on her face. "When i started playing, my mom told me that wearing my hair in braids would be more convertible under the helmet, and they would be easier to work with and keep. When I was about eleven she told me that she was going to teach me how to do it my self, and she did. She had to help me a little bit for a while, but soon I got it down pretty good. I've worn my hair like that ever since. Except for the last couple months."  
  
"Well I'm glad that you have gone back to wearing your hair like that. I have always liked it in braids." He told her and she smiled. "How have you been doing? Do you need to talk to my mom or someone?"  
  
She looked at him and smiled, "I've been doing ok. I think. I mean there are times when I still pick up the phone to call her... and then remember she isn't going to be there....I'm 15 for gods sake Charlie, I need my Momma. There are so many things that I need to know, and can't ask her.." She told him with a tear running down her check, "You don't know this but when we got back, your mom called me the next day and told me that if in the future I needed to talk about something, to not even hesitate to call her. She told me that she would be happy to talk to me, about anything. A couple weeks later, something happened, and I went to call my mom, remembered she wasn't there and called yours. She talked to me for about two hours, and told me she was glad I had called her. I thanked her told her she had made me feel a lot better, and told her that I would probably need her again. She told me that was fine, and to tell you she loved you. I think I did. Anyways since then I've called her a few more times. You have a great mom Charlie." She told him.  
  
"Yea I know I do. I'm glad she told you that and that you have taken her up on that. I've been worried about you." He said reaching up and whipping a tear off her face.  
  
"Really?" She asked.  
  
"Yep, I have, because you really haven't been acting yourself. I'm not surprised about that because I wouldn't be myself either if something happened to my mom. But I've been worried about you all the same. Now I'm seeing the old Julie is slowly coming back." He told her and she smiled.  
  
Before she could say anything Coach Orian came looking for them. "Hey you two, everything alright?" He asked.  
  
"Yea coach, I was just asking Julie how she has been doing." Charlie explained to him and walked up to him, "We've been kindof busy in school, and getting ready for this game that I haven't gotten to talk to her much. And when we do we talk about school, or hockey, or going to see a movie."  
  
"Ahh, ok, it's all cool, just wanted to make sure you two were alright." Orian told him and Charlie nodded.  
  
"We were about to come in and get dressed." Charlie said, "We're not in trouble are we?"  
  
"No your not in trouble. Just wanted to know where you were." He told Charlie, "I'm going to leave you alone now, come in when you're done."  
  
"Ok." Charlie said and walked back over to Julie.  
  
"We're not in trouble are we?" Julie asked as he got back to her.  
  
"No he just wanted to make sure you were ok." He told her.  
  
"Oh ok." She said.  
  
He smiled and kissed her on the cheek, "Ready to go practice?"  
  
"Yea." She said and smiled at him.  
  
"Cool let's go." He said and grabbed her hand and led her into the building and into the locker room.  
  
They separated from each other, changed into their gear and walked together to the ice. When they got there, Orian smiled at them, but didn't say anything to them. However when Averman saw them he got an evil grin on his face and skated towards them. Julie saw him and knowing that he was about to say something to them glared at him.  
  
"Averman before you even ask, or better yet, make assumptions, Charlie was simply asking me if I was ok, that is it. We haven't gotten to talk much and he has been worried about me. That is the truth, and if you even think about saying something degrading about me, I meant what I said yesterday, and if you don't believe me about my story ask coach." She said, and preceded to skate off. "WOW!!! Bitchy much?" Averman said in what he thought was a voice under his breath. Julie and Charlie preceded to at the same time charge him. They got to him at the same time and knocked him down and across the ice. However with the momentum that Julie had combined with all of her equipment on fell when she hit Averman and went scooted across with him, and they both hit the boards. (they had been in the middle of the rink)  
  
"OWW!! SON OF A B....!!!" Julie started but got interrupted when Averman pushed her of off of him and got up, and skated off. "DON"T help me or anything bastard." She yelled him.  
  
Charlie skated over to her and picked her up, "You ok Jules?" He asked her.  
  
"Yea. Just pissed." She said. "Thanks for helping me."  
  
"No problem. And don't worry about Averman, Coach is talking to him." He told her.  
  
"I'm not worried about him. But if I were you, I would be worried about him, if he comes near me again today." She told him with a glare on her face.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm not going to let him get near you, and if I interpret your big brothers look he isn't going to either." He told her hoping she would grin but she didn't. "Come on Jules let go back to practice."  
  
She nodded and put her helmet back on, and got between the pipes. Charlie sighed, her nerves were starting to show up. *I just hope nothing else happens the rest of practice* he said to himself. Fortunately enough, nothing did, until the got on the buss.  
  
***On the buss***  
  
The team didn't know it but Orian had decided that since the drive was going to be several hours long that he would treat them with a charter buss so that they could spread out. The only thing he didn't count on was how cranky the buss driver was going to be, and that he was going to make the kids sit together and choose who they were going to sit with.  
  
The team was standing outside their dorms, with Orian, for their buss to get there. He had just told them about the charter buss and they were all talking about it, when it got there.  
  
When the buss stopped the driver came out and stood infront of them. Orian cleared his throat to get their attention.  
  
"Thank you sir." The driver said.  
  
"Your welcome." Orian said.  
  
"Ok, I want you to listen to me, and listen god. I don't like kids, and I really don't like listening to them. So what I'm going to do is put each one of you in a seat, by your self, then I'm going to separate you with a row in between. That way you will not be able to talk. Is that clear?" The driver told them.  
  
The way that he had said that none of them dared to argue with them, so they all nodded. Except for Orian.  
  
"Now listen here, I'm the one that tells them wear to set, not you." He argued. "Plus they have a right to talk and hangout together, they are going to a National Championship."  
  
"I don't care what they are going to, i don't care if you think they should get to talk and hang out on the ride. Because i don't give a shit about them, I'm only doing this to get the money. But if you don't do this I'm going to get back in the bus and leave and you wont have a bus." The driver snapped back.  
  
"No I won't do it your way because these kids have worked very hard to get the to top. Some of them have gone through hell this year and yet they have still continued to play." Orian started, "Every one of them have the right to be able to sit next to their friends and talk about this game. Some are extremely nervous and if they are separated like you want them to be they will just get worse. So if you continue to insist that they be seated your way I will call your boss and ask for a new driver. We have time to wait, if that is what I have to do. Is that clear?"  
  
"Yes, it's perfectly clear." The driver spat out.  
  
"Your going to let the sit where they want to, with who they want to and decide on whether or not they want to talk, correct?" Orian asked  
  
"I don't like it but yes, I will." He snapped.  
  
"Good then I think we're set to get started." Orian said to him, and then turned to the team, "All right guys get on. You can sit wear you want and with who you want."  
  
"Yea!!!!!!" they all shouted happy to be able to get started finally.  
  
They put all of their bags in the compartments on the outside of the bus and then got on the buss. Julie was one of the first to get on and she quickly went to her usual spot on all busses, the middle, and away from the driver. She set down in the set next to the window and looked out the window while she waited for the rest of the team to get on.  
  
She was so involved in looking out the window and thinking about the game, that she didn't hear Connie come up and set down next to her.  
  
"Julie?" Connie said softly so as not to scare her.  
  
Julie still jumped a lttle and then looked over at Connie, "Yea?"  
  
"You ok?" Connie asked her. "Yea, why wouldn't I be?" Julie asked.  
  
No reason, you just seemed kindof distant." Connie told her.  
  
"I'm ok, just nervous about the game." Julie said to her.  
  
"Yea, so am I." Connie said, "I'm going to go sit with Guy, unless you want me to wait tell Charlie gets here."  
  
"No that's ok, you don't have to wait." Julie told her, "thanks for asking thought."  
  
"No problem Jules. If you want to talk to me, about anything, I'll be with Guy. We can just kick him out of the set and talk." Connie told her and she laughed.  
  
"Ok, I'll remember that." Julie said.  
  
"Good." Connie said, "Talk to you in a little bit."  
  
"Ok, bye." Julie said and went back to looking out the window.  
  
Connie smiled and walked back to wear she and Guy were sitting and set down.  
  
"She ok?" Guy asked her as she set down next to him.  
  
"Yea, she's just nervous." Connie told him.  
  
"Yea, I think most of us are." Guy said.  
  
"Yea, but I thinks she is a little depressed to." Connie said, and then continued when she saw the look on his face, "She told me the other day that besides her and Charlie getting together, the next thing she really wanted to see was Julie take her team to another championship."  
  
"Oh, yea I guess this is kindof a sobering day for her." Guy said.  
  
"Yea." Connie said, looking at Julie looking out side.  
  
She watched as Charlie came on the buss and started looking for Julie and as soon as he found her walk over to her and sit down. He then said something and she looked at him and nodded. He smiled and wrapped his arm around her.  
  
Connie smiled, "But she's going to be ok. She'll get throw today, and have a lot of fun."  
  
"How do you know?" Guy asked.  
  
"Cause she has Charlie." She told him.  
  
Ok well I realized that if I wrote this as one chapter it would be way to long, so I decided to split it up into two parts. The next part will be the game and afterwards. It will also be the ending. Hope you enjoy, and please review. 


	9. Epiloque Part 2

When Angels Cry

Epilogue

Part 2

A/N: I am so very freaking sorry I haven't posted on this in like two years. A lot of things have happened and I was busy. Then when I would want to work on it I couldn't figure a way to finish it. Now I have inspiration and am going to get to it. I hope you enjoy it and please review.

Responses to my Reviewers

I just want you all to know that I have appreciated all your reviews threw this Fic. I am incredibly sad that this is the last chapter. But I do have a squeal for it that will be much happier. Hope to talk to you all soon. Enjoy and please review if you can.

Ok now lets get on with this chapter.

The trip to the rink in the Bus had been a long 3 hour trip. But the team found different ways to pass it by. Some played games, some just talked about different things and others slept.

When they got to the rink they had two hours before the practices so Bombay told them that they could look around the rink building, or they could hang out in the locker room. Most of them decided to take their bags to their locker room and then go look around.

But Connie, Julie, Guy, and Charlie decided to hang out in the locker room and maybe look around later. They went in and unpacked their bags and put their stuff in their lockers.

Connie, Charlie, and Guy had finished and gone to the couch to relax. But Julie was starting to get nervous about the game. She stood at her locker staring at it with big eyes.

Connie saw this and got up and walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Julie jumped and then looked over at Connie.

Connie smiled, "Hey Julie, you ok?"

Julie shWhen Angels Cry

Epilogue

Part 2

A/N: I am so very freaking sorry I haven't posted on this in like two years. A lot of things have happened and I was busy. Then when I would want to work on it I couldn't figure a way to finish it. Now I have inspiration and am going to get to it. I hope you enjoy it and please review.

Responses to my Reviewers

I just want you all to know that I have appreciated all your reviews threw this Fic. I am incredibly sad that this is the last chapter. But I do have a squeal for it that will be much happier. Hope to talk to you all soon. Enjoy and please review if you can.

Ok now lets get on with this chapter.

The trip to the rink in the Bus had been a long 3 hour trip. But the team found different ways to pass it by. Some played games, some just talked about different things and others slept.

When they got to the rink they had two hours before the practices so Bombay told them that they could look around the rink building, or they could hang out in the locker room. Most of them decided to take their bags to their locker room and then go look around.

But Connie, Julie, Guy, and Charlie decided to hang out in the locker room and maybe look around later. They went in and unpacked their bags and put their stuff in their lockers.

Connie, Charlie, and Guy had finished and gone to the couch to relax. But Julie was starting to get nervous about the game. She stood at her locker staring at it with big eyes.

Connie saw this and got up and walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Julie jumped and then looked over at Connie.

Connie smiled, "Hey Julie, you ok?"

Julie shock her head, "Not really. I'm going through my normal scared out of my mind phase before a big game." She said.

Connie nodded, "Come over to the couch Julie maybe we can help you relax a bit."

Julie nodded and they walked over to the couch. Charlie patted the area next to him and held out his arm for her. She set down and cuddled next to him as he wrapped an arm around her.

A few minutes later Charlie laughed, he then looked at Connie and Guy, "Do you remember that first year that Bombay came to us. We couldn't skate to save our lives."

Connie laughed, "you mean you couldn't skate to save your life."

Charlie rolled his eyes, "Right that's what I meant. You and guy were a lot better than me."

Guy laughed, "No I think it was just Connie. I wasn't that good either." he said .

Julie looked at them, "You mean you couldn't even skate when Coach got the job?"

"Nope we sure couldn't. Charlie would be ok for a while until he swung his stick then he fell on his face and went sliding into the wall. I could skate ok and managed to get a couple goes threw a goalie, but I couldn't stop to save my life. Connie here could skate, swing her stick, and stop…and I think she also got a goal every once in a while…laughs I know she liked to knock Averman over." Guy said.

Julie laughed out loud, something she hadn't done in a long time and it felt great. "I had heard people saying how he had had to teach you how to skate and pass the puck and stuff like that but I didn't know it was all true. I figured it was just a few that he had to do that with."

Guy laughed, "No it was all of us. He got us real jerseys and sticks, pads, skates, actually got us rink time and a inside rink. Then he set to work on teaching us how to skate, that took a bit. But probably the funniest thing he did was when he started teaching us how to pas the puck. He started us out with eggs." he said and looked at Charlie who rolled his eyes.

Connie laughed, "It was more like the funniest thing Charlie did, coach just had a hysterical look on his face." She said and Guy laughed and nodded.

"yea that's true." He said and laughed along with her.

Julie sighed, "Are you going to tell me or sit there and laugh about it?" she asked impatiently.

Guy grinned, "Sorry Julie." He said, "Coach had us passing the egg to each other back and forth. We each had partners, and Charlie's was Coach. Charlie hit the egg just a bit to hard and broke the egg and it went all over coach's sweater and pants. Charlie gave him a look like he was really sorry and coach said, "Not so hard Charlie." Charlie nodded and then got a new egg and hit it softer and managed to get it to coach. Then coach passed it back to him and he didn't receive it right and got it all over him." Guy said laughing out load, "He figured out how to receive it after that."

Julie was bent over laughing at the story, as was Connie. Guy was laughing to and Charlie was trying to look indignant but couldn't help but laugh as well.

"I'm glad you all thought that was so funny," Charlie said acting like he was mad, "Mom made me wash that jersey myself." He said which just made the other three laugh harder.

He sighed and then looked at his friends and busted out laughing himself, "I think the best part was the look on coaches face when that egg went all over him."

Connie and guy nodded and Julie laughed as she imagined it.

After that they talked about different things that had happened to them in the past, laughing over most of what they talked about.

Julie looked at them all and kind of laughed, "Momma had this thing that she had to stand at the entrance of the ring when I led the team out and hug and kiss me and make sure I had all my pads on. Then she would tell me good luck and send me on my way onto the ice. Then she would tell the rest of the team good luck as they walked on." She told them, then she laughed, "There was this one time that she had just let me go onto the ice and I stepped on it while I was putting my helmet on, I slipped and fell on my back and was trying to get up but couldn't. Momma went out there and started to try to help me up, but as soon as she stepped on it she fell to. So finally after they had finished laughing a couple of my friends skated to us and helped my mom up and back to the entrance and then came back and helped me up. For the rest of the time that I was on that team there wasn't a one of them that let me or momma forget that. It's probably a story that's being passed down to new players." She said and rolled her eyes but was laughing at the same time.

The other three were laughing right along with her, happy to see that she was laughing.

After the laughter had died down Bombay came in and smiled at them, "It looks like you four are having fun, but it's time to get ready for warm ups." He said

Charlie nodded, "ok Coach." He said and they got up and headed to their lockers to and started getting ready.

Julie was nervous, but not like she had been. Before she had been scared that she was going to screw the game up, but not after having so much fun, she knew that she had just been very nervous. Now she was excited and nervous, and couldn't wait to get out there and play. In her excitement she had gotten her equipment on and was ready before any of the other team.

So while she waited for the rest of the team to get ready she set at her locker trying to be patient but it wasn't working.

"Would you all hurry up." She said impatiently.

"WOW Catlady is actually ready before us." Averman said as he put his jersey on.

Julie glared at him, "Shut up Averman." She snapped.

"Yes ma'm." He said and went back to getting ready.

The rest of the team laughed knowing that Julie and Averman hadn't gotten along since they had first meet several years ago. Averman liked to make fun of her or pick a fight with her even though he knew that she would either retaliate or her 'brother' Portman would. In other words they caused great amusement for the team.

A few minutes later the rest of the team were ready to and they were finally able to walk out and go to ice.

Julie realized that everyone was excited like she was and she gave them all a huge grin, and got one in return.

Coach met them at the ice, "Let's do some laps and then Julie will get in the goal and you can practice shots for a bit."

They all nodded and got to doing the laps and then eventually the practice shots.

After about 30 minutes the whistle blue and they knew it was only a matter of time before the start of the game. The team and Julie went over to the bench for a talk with coach, who seemed about as nervous as Julie had been.

"Alright team, this is it, the big game. We've done this before in the past years we can do it again. I have faith in you. Go out there, and do your best and I know we can win." he said and the team all cheered.

Coach then looked over at Julie, "You ok Julie?" He asked

She nodded, "Yea, for the first time in a long time I am." SHe said

Coach grinned, "That's great." He said and then turned to the stands and waved.

Julie and the rest of the team looked up to see who coach was waving at and Julie nearly fell down.

"Daddy!" She squealed.

Her father grinned at her and signed and mouthed, "I love you."

She grinned and seemed to have even more confidence in herself and mouthed "I love you to." back to him. Then she saw Jason and grinned at him and he waved to her.

She waved back and then looked at Coach, "Did you get them here?"

"Actually no, I didn't. Your brother did, and he told me that they were coming and were sitting a few rows up and behind our bench." He said.

She grinned, "Ok." she said.

"Good now lets go out and win us the Championship!" Bombay said and they cheered and went out to the ice.

Julie got to the goal and looked out at the ice, "BRING IT ON!"

The team on the bench cheered. That was it, they knew their Goalie was back to herself, that one little phrase had proved it to them. She probably would still have some times of grief but all in all they knew she was back.

A couple hours later with only a couple minutes left in the game the ducks were ahead 3 to 2. The other team had the puck and was skating for the goal.

Julie was talking to herself telling herself that she could do it, just one more time.

"You can do it Julie, you know you can. Games almost over, don't screw it up by letting them tie and making us go into overtime." She told herself as they got closer.

She quit talking to herself and watched as the player with the puck coming at her. She watched the puck and as he went to shot she watched the puck come at her and shot out her glove hand and caught it, just as the buzzer went off.

It only took Julie a minute to realize that she had actually caught the puck, and that the game was over. She dropped the puck and pulled her helmet off and cheered as the rest of the team jumped onto the ice and went skating to the middle with the rest of the team.

She started skating to them to join in when Charlie broke from the team and went skating over to her. She squealed and tried to skate faster over to him but almost fell due to her excitement and bulk of her pads.

Charlie laughed and caught her and then hugged her tight to him. "You did it Julie, You won another Championship." He said when he pulled back.

"I KNOW!" She said "and Momma was watching me…I think I felt her."

He smiled, "I'm glad." He said and then he bent down and gave her a loving kiss.

She was a bit surprised at first but quickly kissed him back. They pulled away when they heard cheers from the team.

Portman laughed, "It's about time you kissed her." He said.

Julie blushed and then laughed and hid her face in Charlie's chest. She then looked at him, "You had to choose our first kiss to be in front of the whole team and a whole bunch of other people we probably don't even know, didn't you?"

Charlie grinned, "Yea." He said and she playfully slapped him.

They then skated to the rest of the team who in turn started hugging Julie and slapping her on the head. Portman hugged her and then grinned, "Just don't start saying Charlie like Linda use to." He said and Julie laughed.

"What you mean like this, "Chaarlie, oh Chaarlie." she said and Portman rolled his eyes and the rest of the team laughed.

After a few more wise cracks about Linda, Julie heard her name from behind the team.

She turned around surrounded by the rest of her team and saw her dad standing there with Jason.

She grinned and skated over to them. She didn't know if she should hug them or not. But the confusion soon ended when her dad reached over and pulled her to him in a hug.

"I'm proud of you Julie, you did it again. Your mother would have been proud to if she was here." He said.

Julie smiled, "But daddy, she is here." She said, "she may not be here physically but I know she's watching. And she's always going to be right here." She said and put her hand over her heart.

Her dad smiled, "I know." He said, "Listen Julie, I'm sorry about the way I treated you when this all happened. I know it wasn't your fault, or mine that your mother died. I know that driver that was drunk was at fault, but I think it was just my grief causing me to act like that, and I know that's not an excuse but that's what happened. Your brother, after several arguments got me to realize it wasn't your fault, and that you had needed me then, and now. So I'm here, Julie." He said, "I found out that you and your team was going to the championship and got tickets to come."

Julie was smiling and hugged her daddy, "I forgive you daddy." She said.

He smiled, "Good and I want you to know I'm glad you and Charlie are together. I can see that he and your team have helped you threw this."

Julie nodded, "Yea they have." She said and turned to look at her team and grinned.

"Julie go celebrate, Jason and I, will be staying close to your school for a little while so go on." He said.

She squealed hugged him and then Jason and then went back to the team to finish celebrating.

Charlie grinned at her and leaned over, "See told you he would come around." she laughed and they headed to the locker room.

The team Celebrated on the way back to school and well into the night until they one by one started drifting off. Julie found her self felling peaceful and happy.

She looked at the sky before she went to bed, "we did it again momma, we won." She said softly.

A/N: ok well that's it. that's the end…wow I can't believe it. But I have a sequel coming up for it, but I'm going to post in the other fics first. I hope you enjoyed this, please review. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and I'll see you all soon. ock her head, "Not really. I'm going through my normal scared out of my mind phase before a big game." She said.

Connie nodded, "Come over to the couch Julie maybe we can help you relax a bit."

Julie nodded and they walked over to the couch. Charlie patted the area next to him and held out his arm for her. She set down and cuddled next to him as he wrapped an arm around her.

A few minutes later Charlie laughed, he then looked at Connie and Guy, "Do you remember that first year that Bombay came to us. We couldn't skate to save our lives."

Connie laughed, "you mean you couldn't skate to save your life."

Charlie rolled his eyes, "Right that's what I meant. You and guy were a lot better than me."

Guy laughed, "No I think it was just Connie. I wasn't that good either." he said .

Julie looked at them, "You mean you couldn't even skate when Coach got the job?"

"Nope we sure couldn't. Charlie would be ok for a while until he swung his stick then he fell on his face and went sliding into the wall. I could skate ok and managed to get a couple goes threw a goalie, but I couldn't stop to save my life. Connie here could skate, swing her stick, and stop…and I think she also got a goal every once in a while…laughs I know she liked to knock Averman over." Guy said.

Julie laughed out loud, something she hadn't done in a long time and it felt great. "I had heard people saying how he had had to teach you how to skate and pass the puck and stuff like that but I didn't know it was all true. I figured it was just a few that he had to do that with."

Guy laughed, "No it was all of us. He got us real jerseys and sticks, pads, skates, actually got us rink time and a inside rink. Then he set to work on teaching us how to skate, that took a bit. But probably the funniest thing he did was when he started teaching us how to pas the puck. He started us out with eggs." he said and looked at Charlie who rolled his eyes.

Connie laughed, "It was more like the funniest thing Charlie did, coach just had a hysterical look on his face." She said and Guy laughed and nodded.

"yea that's true." He said and laughed along with her.

Julie sighed, "Are you going to tell me or sit there and laugh about it?" she asked impatiently.

Guy grinned, "Sorry Julie." He said, "Coach had us passing the egg to each other back and forth. We each had partners, and Charlie's was Coach. Charlie hit the egg just a bit to hard and broke the egg and it went all over coach's sweater and pants. Charlie gave him a look like he was really sorry and coach said, "Not so hard Charlie." Charlie nodded and then got a new egg and hit it softer and managed to get it to coach. Then coach passed it back to him and he didn't receive it right and got it all over him." Guy said laughing out load, "He figured out how to receive it after that."

Julie was bent over laughing at the story, as was Connie. Guy was laughing to and Charlie was trying to look indignant but couldn't help but laugh as well.

"I'm glad you all thought that was so funny," Charlie said acting like he was mad, "Mom made me wash that jersey myself." He said which just made the other three laugh harder.

He sighed and then looked at his friends and busted out laughing himself, "I think the best part was the look on coaches face when that egg went all over him."

Connie and guy nodded and Julie laughed as she imagined it.

After that they talked about different things that had happened to them in the past, laughing over most of what they talked about.

Julie looked at them all and kind of laughed, "Momma had this thing that she had to stand at the entrance of the ring when I led the team out and hug and kiss me and make sure I had all my pads on. Then she would tell me good luck and send me on my way onto the ice. Then she would tell the rest of the team good luck as they walked on." She told them, then she laughed, "There was this one time that she had just let me go onto the ice and I stepped on it while I was putting my helmet on, I slipped and fell on my back and was trying to get up but couldn't. Momma went out there and started to try to help me up, but as soon as she stepped on it she fell to. So finally after they had finished laughing a couple of my friends skated to us and helped my mom up and back to the entrance and then came back and helped me up. For the rest of the time that I was on that team there wasn't a one of them that let me or momma forget that. It's probably a story that's being passed down to new players." She said and rolled her eyes but was laughing at the same time.

The other three were laughing right along with her, happy to see that she was laughing.

After the laughter had died down Bombay came in and smiled at them, "It looks like you four are having fun, but it's time to get ready for warm ups." He said

Charlie nodded, "ok Coach." He said and they got up and headed to their lockers to and started getting ready.

Julie was nervous, but not like she had been. Before she had been scared that she was going to screw the game up, but not after having so much fun, she knew that she had just been very nervous. Now she was excited and nervous, and couldn't wait to get out there and play. In her excitement she had gotten her equipment on and was ready before any of the other team.

So while she waited for the rest of the team to get ready she set at her locker trying to be patient but it wasn't working.

"Would you all hurry up." She said impatiently.

"WOW Catlady is actually ready before us." Averman said as he put his jersey on.

Julie glared at him, "Shut up Averman." She snapped.

"Yes ma'm." He said and went back to getting ready.

The rest of the team laughed knowing that Julie and Averman hadn't gotten along since they had first meet several years ago. Averman liked to make fun of her or pick a fight with her even though he knew that she would either retaliate or her 'brother' Portman would. In other words they caused great amusement for the team.

A few minutes later the rest of the team were ready to and they were finally able to walk out and go to ice.

Julie realized that everyone was excited like she was and she gave them all a huge grin, and got one in return.

Coach met them at the ice, "Let's do some laps and then Julie will get in the goal and you can practice shots for a bit."

They all nodded and got to doing the laps and then eventually the practice shots.

After about 30 minutes the whistle blue and they knew it was only a matter of time before the start of the game. The team and Julie went over to the bench for a talk with coach, who seemed about as nervous as Julie had been.

"Alright team, this is it, the big game. We've done this before in the past years we can do it again. I have faith in you. Go out there, and do your best and I know we can win." he said and the team all cheered.

Coach then looked over at Julie, "You ok Julie?" He asked

She nodded, "Yea, for the first time in a long time I am." SHe said

Coach grinned, "That's great." He said and then turned to the stands and waved.

Julie and the rest of the team looked up to see who coach was waving at and Julie nearly fell down.

"Daddy!" She squealed.

Her father grinned at her and signed and mouthed, "I love you."

She grinned and seemed to have even more confidence in herself and mouthed "I love you to." back to him. Then she saw Jason and grinned at him and he waved to her.

She waved back and then looked at Coach, "Did you get them here?"

"Actually no, I didn't. Your brother did, and he told me that they were coming and were sitting a few rows up and behind our bench." He said.

She grinned, "Ok." she said.

"Good now lets go out and win us the Championship!" Bombay said and they cheered and went out to the ice.

Julie got to the goal and looked out at the ice, "BRING IT ON!"

The team on the bench cheered. That was it, they knew their Goalie was back to herself, that one little phrase had proved it to them. She probably would still have some times of grief but all in all they knew she was back.

A couple hours later with only a couple minutes left in the game the ducks were ahead 3 to 2. The other team had the puck and was skating for the goal.

Julie was talking to herself telling herself that she could do it, just one more time.

"You can do it Julie, you know you can. Games almost over, don't screw it up by letting them tie and making us go into overtime." She told herself as they got closer.

She quit talking to herself and watched as the player with the puck coming at her. She watched the puck and as he went to shot she watched the puck come at her and shot out her glove hand and caught it, just as the buzzer went off.

It only took Julie a minute to realize that she had actually caught the puck, and that the game was over. She dropped the puck and pulled her helmet off and cheered as the rest of the team jumped onto the ice and went skating to the middle with the rest of the team.

She started skating to them to join in when Charlie broke from the team and went skating over to her. She squealed and tried to skate faster over to him but almost fell due to her excitement and bulk of her pads.

Charlie laughed and caught her and then hugged her tight to him. "You did it Julie, You won another Championship." He said when he pulled back.

"I KNOW!" She said "and Momma was watching me…I think I felt her."

He smiled, "I'm glad." He said and then he bent down and gave her a loving kiss.

She was a bit surprised at first but quickly kissed him back. They pulled away when they heard cheers from the team.

Portman laughed, "It's about time you kissed her." He said.

Julie blushed and then laughed and hid her face in Charlie's chest. She then looked at him, "You had to choose our first kiss to be in front of the whole team and a whole bunch of other people we probably don't even know, didn't you?"

Charlie grinned, "Yea." He said and she playfully slapped him.

They then skated to the rest of the team who in turn started hugging Julie and slapping her on the head. Portman hugged her and then grinned, "Just don't start saying Charlie like Linda use to." He said and Julie laughed.

"What you mean like this, "Chaarlie, oh Chaarlie." she said and Portman rolled his eyes and the rest of the team laughed.

After a few more wise cracks about Linda, Julie heard her name from behind the team.

She turned around surrounded by the rest of her team and saw her dad standing there with Jason.

She grinned and skated over to them. She didn't know if she should hug them or not. But the confusion soon ended when her dad reached over and pulled her to him in a hug.

"I'm proud of you Julie, you did it again. Your mother would have been proud to if she was here." He said.

Julie smiled, "But daddy, she is here." She said, "she may not be here physically but I know she's watching. And she's always going to be right here." She said and put her hand over her heart.

Her dad smiled, "I know." He said, "Listen Julie, I'm sorry about the way I treated you when this all happened. I know it wasn't your fault, or mine that your mother died. I know that driver that was drunk was at fault, but I think it was just my grief causing me to act like that, and I know that's not an excuse but that's what happened. Your brother, after several arguments got me to realize it wasn't your fault, and that you had needed me then, and now. So I'm here, Julie." He said, "I found out that you and your team was going to the championship and got tickets to come."

Julie was smiling and hugged her daddy, "I forgive you daddy." She said.

He smiled, "Good and I want you to know I'm glad you and Charlie are together. I can see that he and your team have helped you threw this."

Julie nodded, "Yea they have." She said and turned to look at her team and grinned.

"Julie go celebrate, Jason and I, will be staying close to your school for a little while so go on." He said.

She squealed hugged him and then Jason and then went back to the team to finish celebrating.

Charlie grinned at her and leaned over, "See told you he would come around." she laughed and they headed to the locker room.

The team Celebrated on the way back to school and well into the night until they one by one started drifting off. Julie found her self felling peaceful and happy.

She looked at the sky before she went to bed, "we did it again momma, we won." She said softly.

A/N: ok well that's it. that's the end…wow I can't believe it. But I have a sequel coming up for it, but I'm going to post in the other fics first. I hope you enjoyed this, please review. I know there are probably some errors that I haven't caught and I'm going to apologize now. I haven't been able to talk to Chelsea in a while, so please forgive me for the errors. I'll try to come back later and correct them, but only if I have the chance to. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and I'll see you all soon.


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